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Panel discussion about anti-Semitism in the Wörthsee town hall: Dr.
Andrea Livnat (l.), editor-in-chief of the German-Jewish online portal Hagalil, Eva Ehrlich, chairwoman of the liberal Jewish community Beth Shalom, and Thies Marsen, presenter and anti-Semitism expert at Bavarian Radio.
© Andrea Jaksch
“Never again is now!”: Under this motto, the community of Wörthsee invited people to an evening to commemorate the victims of National Socialism.
Among those sitting on the podium was a woman who had to take refuge in a bunker from Hamas with her family in October 2023.
Wörthsee – One of the spectators found the panel discussion commemorating the victims of National Socialism in Wörthsee’s town hall on Saturday “reflective”.
The community invited people under the title “Never again is now!”
On the podium were Eva Ehrlich, chairwoman of the Liberal Jewish Community Beth Shalom, her daughter Dr.
Andrea Livnat, editor-in-chief of the German-Jewish online portal Hagalil, and Thies Marsen, presenter and anti-Semitism expert at Bayerischer Rundfunk.
The discussion offered truly reflective and insightful insights into the everyday lives of Jewish people in Germany and Israel.
Andrea Livnat grew up in Munich and has lived in Tel Aviv for 20 years.
She wears a plaque around her neck that reads, “Bring them home,” and in Hebrew, “Our hearts are trapped in Gaza.”
In doing so, she draws attention to the fate of the approximately 110 people who are still in the control of the terrorist organization Hamas.
Livnat is the daughter of Eva Ehrlich, whose mother survived Auschwitz and later raised her in exile in Poland.
To protect herself from humiliating remarks such as “Why didn’t they gas you,” she hid her tattooed camp number.
The family was never strictly religious.
And the association that Ehrlich chairs is characterized by “the equality of men and women,” as she explained.
Livnat's online portal represents the different views in Israel, explained the editor-in-chief.
“You are both strong critics of the government,” Marsen said, completing the profile of the two women who spoke about anti-Semitism and the war.
Andrea Livnat: “The bunker has unfortunately been a reality in Israel since 2011”
Neither of them will ever forget October 7th.
“The sirens went off at 6:30 a.m.,” Livnat remembers.
For her, her husband and their three sons, that meant seeking protection in the bunker – “unfortunately the bunker has been a reality in Israel since 2011.”
News of the massacre in which, according to reports, about 1,200 people were brutally killed by Hamas on kibbutzim reached them gradually.
Livnat emphasized that the crimes could not be denied; after all, Hamas had posted 40 minutes of footage of the murders online.
She perceives a decreasing empathy for the victims and an increasing empathy for the affected Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Her mother observes increasing pro-Palestine demonstrations “which are being abused by the right.”
Hamas is openly calling for the destruction of Israel - and how should one respond to a terrorist organization other than with war, Livnat asked himself.
She also pointed out “millions of euros” that the EU and Qatar are “pumping” into the Gaza Strip – no one knows whether they actually reach where there is need.
Since October, says Marsen, anti-Semitism has increased in Germany.
Your answer to that?
“Meeting each other,” the women agreed.
And yes: the people in her community are afraid that a massacre could also occur in Germany, says Ehrlich.
After two hours of intensive discussion, the listeners had to process numerous impressions and information, “which will probably resonate with each of us for a long time,” said Mayor Christel Muggenthal, summing up the evening aptly.
Michele Kirner