German president bows his head in shame

German president Horst Koehler bowed his head in shame before the victims of the Nazi Holocaust today and promised Germany will wage a determined battle against anti-Semitism.

In a speech to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, he also denounced Palestinian suicide bombings as indefensible acts of terror and said Germany would always stand by Israel and its people.

He said Germany is encouraged by recent Mideast peace moves, and would try to help Israelis and Palestinians to resume negotiations.

Koehler began his speech in heavily accented Hebrew, in a gesture that prompted his hosts to smile, then switched to German.

Several Cabinet ministers and MPs said before the address, which marked 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, that they could not bear the thought of hearing German spoken in parliament, and that they would stay away.

Koehler, the second German president to address Israel’s parliament, said: “I bow my head in shame and humility before the victims (of the Holocaust), and before those who came to their help, at risk to their own lives.”

Addressing growing Israeli concerns about anti-Semitism in Europe, including Germany, Koehler said: “Every open society has its enemies. Hostility toward foreigners and anti-Semitism have not disappeared from Germany.”

He said that Germans need to “seek the political debate with right-wing extremists and anti-Semites, and we must do it in a determined fashion.”

However, Koehler’s remarks appeared to fall short of Israel’s demands, raised again in parliament today, that Germany outlaw certain far-right groups.