Responses from the parties
Judaism has been established in Germany too for more than 1,500 years. It is part of German culture, and the state does all it can to support its continued existence and flourishing within the framework of its Leitkultur (guiding culture). Jewish Germans see themselves as loyal citizens of Germany and have their home here. By its own definition, Judaism has no tendency to seek converts and does not aim to change the way society lives together.
The Jewish communities enrich Germany. They are a firm part of our society. It is a cause for joy that many Jews once again regard Germany as their home. We will continue to support the Jewish communities and Jewish welfare services in caring for immigrants. A central task remains that of continuing to remember the immeasurable suffering inflicted on Jews under the National Socialists.
The Jewish religion, Jewish women and men, and Jewish culture were and are part of Germany. The SPD is a reliable partner of the Jewish community in Germany.
Over recent decades the Jewish communities have achieved a great deal in terms of integration. This is reflected in Jewish kindergartens, schools, youth centres and residential homes for older people. The Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der Juden in Deutschland (Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany) also provides important social services. We acknowledge this commitment with grateful recognition and wish to continue supporting it with public funding.
As the SPD, we feel a particular obligation towards the Jewish heritage within our own party as well. Social democracy in Germany is proud of its Jewish founding fathers and mothers. In addition, there is a nationwide working group of Jewish social democrats that provides important impetus within the party and beyond.
We are glad that Jewish life continued and continues to exist in Germany after and despite the Shoah. Against the historical background not only of the Shoah but also of centuries of discrimination against and ostracism of Jews, it is a particular concern of ours to promote and protect Jewish life.
We are grateful for the diversity of Jewish life and for the renewed rootedness of Jewish culture in Germany. A strong and diverse Judaism enriches life together and strengthens cohesion in Germany and in Europe. There must be no discrimination. We therefore want to end the discrimination in pension law against Jewish quota refugees, as compared with Spätaussiedler (ethnic German repatriates), on the grounds of their religion.
From a Christian-Catholic perspective, Pope Benedict called the Jews “our elder brothers”. The idea of the human being as the “image of God” originates in Judaism, and it is ultimately from this that Article 1 of the Grundgesetz (German Basic Law), according to which human dignity is inviolable, is derived. Alongside Christianity, the thinkers of ancient Greece, humanism and the Enlightenment, Judaism is therefore one of the pillars of the modern Western world with its universal values. That Jewish life was able to develop vibrantly again in Germany after the abhorrent years of National Socialist rule is one of the great achievements of the post-war period. For the AfD this is cause for both joy and gratitude, and at the same time an obligation to keep this state of affairs alive and free of fear at all times.
We, the Freie Demokraten, are very glad that Jewish life takes place in Germany. We deeply regret that it is sadly still exposed to hostility and prejudice. Synagogues and other institutions of Jewish life under police protection are sad witnesses to this.
We, the Freie Demokraten, are committed to ensuring that Jewish life is respected as a matter of course.