“At a time when too many heads of state and government in the world 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, on Thursday evening (local time) at the Leo Baeck Institute in New York in his laudatory speech.
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 cannot 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. On Thursday morning, they had already visited the memorial and museum commemorating the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in southern Manhattan.
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