President Reuven Rivlin met with his German counterpart, Joachim Gauck, at the President's Residence today (Sunday). Both First Ladies also attended the event in honor of 50 years of diplomatic relations.
President Rivlin began his speech by describing how Israelis thought of Germany during the early days of the state. “One my formative political experiences in life came fifty years ago when I took part in fierce demonstrations, 'against diplomatic relations with Germany'. Protests that took place in the name of the dignity of the Israeli people. I remember well that at one of the demonstrations, at the presentation of diplomatic credentials by German Ambassador Rolf Pauls, many wore yellow badges as a protest against the playing of the German national anthem at the President’s Residence, and I stood amongst them. This was not just my opinion- it was the opinion of many. In passports issued by the State of Israel in its early years, it was written they were valid for all countries – apart from Germany.
He then continued by discussing how much circumstances have changed since those days: "Mr. President, today I am welcoming you to the President’s Residence, having stood and listened to the German anthem played here, and I sensed more than anything that this event closes a personal circle for me. A closed circle, which is also an open circle. Fifty years later and the Israeli-German connections still awaken in me a certain sense of discomfort. Fifty years later, and today we know that the Israeli-German connections are correct, and necessary. It is vital for us, and essential for you. We are forever destined to be entwined together in a sense of pain and in hope.”