The president of the German Bundestag landed in Israel on Wednesday, where she is scheduled to participate in a number of events commemorating Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Bärbel Bas was welcomed to the Knesset by an honor guard, and signed the guestbook.
In it, she wrote, “Israel and Germany are true friends and I am grateful for that. I view your invitation to attend Holocaust Remembrance Day events as an honor and a vote of confidence and trust. I humbly bow my head as I reflect upon the inconceivable suffering of the victims of the crimes against humanity committed by the Germans. The lessons of the Holocaust require us to never tolerate the emergence and spread of anti-Semitism. Germany’s responsibility has not ended. We stand with Israel.”
Israel will officially begin observing Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday evening.
Prior to the Knesset visit, Bas and Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy took part in a special tour of Yad Vashem—the World Holocaust Remembrance Center—in Jerusalem.
Following the tour, Levy told Bas that her participation in events “commemorating Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day in the Knesset is a significant expression of the special connection between our countries, the historical responsibility that Germany has taken for the crimes of the Holocaust, and Germany’s commitment to the security of the State of Israel.”
Bas said, “Our shared memory on Holocaust Remembrance Day emphasizes the strength of the German-Israeli friendship and the high levels of trust developed between our countries over the years. This friendship is a wonder and a blessing. I thank the Speaker of the Knesset for his invitation. It is a powerful gesture and demonstration of trust.”
