Against the backdrop of growing anti-Semitism, the agreement formulated between the government and the Jewish community was approved by a vote in the Bundestag • Defense Minister welcomed the move: "A special sign of solidarity and recognition"

• Soldiers in the German army

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  IP

Germany will allow Jewish rabbis to serve in the military for the first time since the position was abolished under the Nazi regime in the 1930s, the New York Times reported. Last Thursday, the Bundestag voted in an anonymous vote to approve the agreement reached last year between the government and the Jewish community. The rabbis who will be enlisted will spiritually support Jewish soldiers in the German army. 

Under the same agreement, up to ten rabbis will provide spiritual support to an estimated number of 300 Jewish soldiers in the German army, serving in out-of-state missions. 

German Defense Minister Anger Krump-Karnbauer said the vote was a "special sign of solidarity and recognition" of the Jews serving in the modern German army called the Bundeswar. Crump-Karnbauer has argued that Jewish life thus returns to Bundeswer in a way that serves as a tangible contribution to the anti-Semitism that is growing daily in society. 

The German Orthodox Rabbis Conference welcomed the approval of Parliament and announced that this was an important message, especially in light of the renewed rise in anti-Semitic events, sponsored by the far-right and conspiracy theories. 

In the past, some 12,000 Jewish soldiers in the German army fell during the First World War. Many Jews hoped that military service would promote their acceptance into German society. Instead, in the post-war years, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the betrayal that led to the defeat of Germany.