As of: January 29, 2024, 2:50 p.m
Comments
Press
Split
A panel discussion took place in Wörthsee to commemorate the victims of National Socialism.
left:: Dr.
Andrea Livnat, editor-in-chief of the German-Jewish online portal HaGalil, Eva Ehrlich, chairwoman of the Liberal Jewish Community Beth Shalom and Thies Marsen, moderator and anti-Semitism expert at BR.
© Michele Kirner
Wörthsee – A panel discussion took place on Saturday under the strictest security precautions to commemorate the victims of National Socialism.
A conversation with two women whose mother and grandmother had to experience the horrors of Auschwitz first hand.
“Never again is now!” was the title of the event.
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, moderator and anti-Semitism expert at BR.
One viewer described the discussion as “reflected” – a discussion that provided 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 Eva 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 explains.
Livnat's online portal, in turn, represents the different views in Israel, explains the editor-in-chief.
“You are both strong critics of the government,” says Thies, completing the profile of the two women who talk about anti-Semitism and the war.
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 in kibbutzim by Hamas reached them gradually.
Livnat explains that the crimes cannot be denied; after all, Hamas posted 40 minutes of footage of the murders online.
Nevertheless, she perceives a frightening trend of decreasing empathy for the victims and increasing empathy for the affected Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, her mother is observing increasing pro-Palestine demonstrations “which are being abused by the right.”
“Meet each other”
Hamas is openly proclaiming the destruction of Israel - and how should one respond to a terrorist organization other than with weapons, Livnat asked himself.
And Hamas clearly doesn't care about the lives of its civilians.
After all, they knew how Israel would react to the attacks.
And the terrorists stashed food in the tunnel systems, which they withheld from the starving population.
She also pointed out “millions of euros” that the EU and Qatar are “pumping” into the Gaza Strip – and no one knows whether they actually reach where there is need.
Since October, Thies said, 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.