Israel’s Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana (Likud) met on Wednesday in Berlin with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, president of the Bundestag Bärbel Bas, and Manuela Schwesig, president of the Bundesrat, as part of a delegation to Germany and France, accompanied by Members of Knesset from the coalition and opposition and families of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Ohana thanked Steinmeier for Germany’s support for Israel during the war, saying that Germany “proved from day one that ‘never again’ is not void of content” and that “Germany’s strong support of Israel in its difficult hours is an expression of true partnership that is not to be taken for granted.”
Ohana added that Israel was approaching “decisive moments” in its war against Hamas and that Germany’s support at this time was “critical more than ever” to reaching the goal.
After meeting with Bas, Ohana remarked on the ongoing negotiations over a hostage deal. Hamas is a “cynical and cruel enemy” that uses “lies and psychological manipulation,” he said. The Knesset speaker called for “nerves of iron” during what he described as “these tense moments,” and he expressed hope that the hostages would be released.
Bas said that Hamas’s attack was “barbaric” and that it must release all of the hostages it was holding. But while “Israel’s response is understandable,” Germany was concerned over the situation in Gaza.
Never again is now
The Bundestag president also addressed the rising antisemitism, saying that she has been asking herself, “How did it happen that Jews are scared here again?” Bas added that “no one can ignore” the phenomenon and that “‘Never Again’ is now.”
Ohana will participate Tuesday in a special session in the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, during which two family members of hostages will speak: Naama Weinberg, cousin of Itai Svirsky, who was murdered in Hamas captivity, and Alon Gat, whose sister, Carmel, is still in captivity. Ohana is also scheduled to meet with the Bundestag’s leader of the opposition, Friedrich Merz.