"You are our guarantee that Jewish life can flourish and will flourish here in the Federal Republic of Germany," said Gideon Joffe, President of Berlin’s Jewish community.

In her address in the Jewish Community Centre in Berlin’s Fasanenstrasse, Jutta Limbach, former President of the Federal Constitutional Court, praised the Chancellor. She made special mention of Angela Merkel’s work in defending Israel’s right to exist. She also singled out the Chancellor’s readiness to speak to the victims of the terrorist organisation "National Socialist Underground" and to admit openly that mistakes had been made by the German authorities.

Working to keep memories alive

Thanking the community for the prize, the Chancellor said that being awarded the Heinz Galinski Prize meant "a very great deal" to her. She sees the award as an incentive. After the Second World War and in spite of his own suffering, Heinz Galinski decided to settle in Berlin. Throughout his life, the Holocaust survivor saw it as his duty and his responsibility to dedicate his life to keeping memories alive – for the generations to come – and to rebuilding the Jewish community.

The prize is named after the long-standing President of the Jewish community in Berlin and the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Heinz Galinski, who died in 1992. He was President of the Jewish community in Berlin from 1949 to 1992. The prize is always awarded on 28 November, the birthday of Heinz Galinski. This year he would have turned one hundred.

Pluralist life in Germany

The new vibrant Jewish life in Germany is a wonder, in the truest sense of the term, said Angela Merkel. But in some parts of German society there are also anti-Semitic and xenophobic trends. This is expressed both verbally and in physical attacks. The humanity of a society can be seen, she said, in the way it deals with minorities.

"Germany is a pluralist society. This should not only be reflected in the German football team, but must also be seen more clearly in the question of exercising religion," stated the Chancellor. In the debate on circumcision, she said, she was saddened to see that when it came to weighing up all the legal aspects of the issue, some opinions were voiced with a total lack of any form of inhibition.

Germany stands firm at Israel’s side

The Chancellor called for a just peace in the Middle East. In the Middle East conflict, she said, Germany stands firm at Israel’s side. "The security of Israel in part of Germany’s reason of state. We are not neutral." This also applies when conflicts flare up, like the current conflict between Hamas in Gaza and Israel.

Like any other state Israel has the right and the duty to defend itself. The region, though, will only see peace if a negotiated solution to the Middle East conflict can be found. This will call for painful compromises on both sides, she said.

Prize money donated

The Heinz Galinski Prize comes with a sum of 5,000 euros. The German Cabinet has decided to donate this sum to the visit to Germany of an Arab-German musical project "Step by Step – Sauwa Sauwa". It is a project to transform the conflict between Muslim and Jewish young people. Their visit to Germany is intended to encourage the young people to think about other life-worlds.