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19. November 2021 – 2:45 clock
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New York (AP) – Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been awarded the Leo Baeck Medal in New York for his commitment to preserving and promoting Jewish life in Germany.
“At a time when too many world leaders are silent, there is a man who speaks clearly and with great moral clarity – and that is you, Mr. President,” said Ronald Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress New York Leo Baeck Institute in his laudation.
The award was a “great honor” and filled him with “deep humility,” said Steinmeier. “Our responsibility to history is part of our identity. It knows no line and no relativization. We must not tolerate anti-Semitism in Germany. I will continue to fight for this, as head of state of this country and as a person.”
The award, named after the German rabbi Leo Baeck, has been presented for around 40 years. Earlier winners included the currently executive Chancellor Angela Merkel and Steinmeier’s predecessor Joachim Gauck.
Steinmeier had traveled to New York with his wife Elke Büdenbender. Together they had already visited the memorial and museum commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in southern Manhattan.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211119-99-55971 / 2
Source: DPA
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