German Foreign Minister Delivers Stirring Address to AJC Global Forum

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, addressing the AJC Global Forum, delivered a powerful speech in support of Israel and German-American Jewish relations.

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"I am proud that today German-Israeli ties are closer and stronger than ever," said Westerwelle. "We are partners and friends because Israel is a vibrant democracy, the only full-fledged democracy in the region."

Westerwelle was addressing an audience of more than 1,500, including many ambassadors in Washington, D.C. at the AJC World Leaders Plenary. 

To emphasize Germany's support, Westerwelle declared: "We will not remain silent when Israel is threatened or its legitimacy called into question. We will stand up whenever Israel is unfairly singled out in multilateral fora. And we will denounce any incitement against the State of Israel and its right to exist."

For Germany, the Iranian nuclear program is a dangerous looming threat, and Westerwelle left no doubt about his country's determination to help stop it.

"We cannot and will not accept an Iranian nuclear weapon," Westerwelle declared. "It would represent not only a threat to Israel but to the region as a whole. And it would undermine the global non-proliferation regime, a cornerstone of global security."

With talks between Iran and the five UN Security Council members plus Germany expected to continue in Baghdad on May 23, Westerwelle emphasized what he called the urgency of the situation.

"We will not accept playing for time. We will not accept talks for the sake of talks," he said.

The foreign minister repeatedly praised AJC's pioneering role in Germany, beginning soon after the end of World War II, when "AJC started to build bridges again over the Atlantic, over the abyss of the past."

"As early as the 1950s, you organized education and exchange programs that made Germans familiar with American Jewish life. You established joint programs with our political foundations. You started a very successful program with our armed forces, the Bundeswehr. And finally you even opened an office in Berlin," he said.

And, he pointed out that "the first Jewish organization to support the very idea of German unification was the American Jewish Committee."

Praising AJC Berlin founding director Eugene Dubow, and current director Deidre Berger, Westerwelle said that "AJC is an important part of Berlin's reemergence as the center of Jewish life in Germany."

Recalling the Holocaust, Westerwelle said, "We remember the six million sons and daughters of the Jewish people who were murdered during the darkest chapter of Germany's history."

"The memory of their fate, the memory of the racist perversion of German thought and German actions of those years, will stay with us through the ages. Our country and our culture have been poorer ever since," said Westerwelle. "Together with Israel we are committed to preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations and to countering anti-Semitism across the globe."

Westerwelle also addressed efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, saying that "a two-state solution is in Israel's own best interest to protect and strengthen the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel."

The foreign minister also saluted the transatlantic partnership as "a community of values" promoting democracy, individual freedom and human rights.

And, he expressed "heartfelt thanks to the American people" for supporting "a free and united Berlin, a free and united Germany, a free and united Europe."

"Without the commitment of hundreds of thousands of GI's and their families, Europe would not be whole and free today," he added.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee