German parliament agrees unanimously to allow rabbis back in military

During the First World War, tens of thousands of Jews served in the Bundeswehr, including some rabbis.

By TAMAR URIEL-BEERI
Soldiers of the German army Bundeswehr take part in an exercise during a media day in Munster, Germany September 28, 2018 (photo credit: FABIAN BIMMER / REUTERS)
Soldiers of the German army Bundeswehr take part in an exercise during a media day in Munster, Germany September 28, 2018
(photo credit: FABIAN BIMMER / REUTERS)
The German parliament voted unanimously on Thursday to allow rabbis back into Germany's armed forces so as to provide religious assistance to Jewish soldiers for the first time since Adolf Hitler rose to power, according to German newspaper Deutsche Welle (DW).
Until now, German soldiers were offered religious services with Christian military representatives alone.
German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced the beginning of the procedure in December of 2019 as a move to combat growing antisemitism in the country.
Kramp-Karrenbauer additionally announced, after the parliament approved the decision, that she would be next attempted to allow imams and Christian orthodox priests to "perform similar chaplaincy roles," according to DW. Until now, the Christian military chaplains were only either Protestant or Catholic.
There are currently approximately 300 Jewish soldiers in the military in addition to the 3,000 Muslims and 90,000 Christians.
During the First World War, tens of thousands of Jews served in the Bundeswehr, including some rabbis. Among them was the prominent theologian Leo Baeck.
German Jewish Central Council President Josef Schuster said that it is "an important support for the democratic attitude of the soldiers" to allow rabbis back into the military.
Germany has seen an increase of antisemitism as of late along with the rise in coronavirus cases, the country’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, said in early April.
Rossella Tercatin contributed to this report.