Chancellor Friedrich Merz, alongside Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, ministers, state governors and senior officials, arrived at the synagogue on the Chabad Jewish Campus in Berlin, where they were received by the city’s rabbi, Yehuda Teichtal. The visit took place amid a rise in antisemitic incidents across Germany, which include dozens of cases of vandalism, graffiti, threats and insults against Jews and Jewish institutions in recent months. “We see this visit as a clear message of support from the authorities,” the rabbi said. The chancellor said: “There is a future for Jewish life in Germany, we are here to support and send a strong message.”
