15 Winter 2025 enemies at its foundation in 1948, the Israeli democracy has coped with incredible dangers and trials. In Germany the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and thus the once immense potential threat emanating from the Warsaw Pact also collapsed. For 35 years, we have considered ourselves to be surrounded by friends. But now, in the face of multidimensional Russian aggression and the return of war to Europe, we need to develop and internalize a holistic approach to security. We have to investigate risks pre-emptively, shed light on complex constellations, and cultivate strong partnerships. The logic followed by our opponents has been expressed in a drastic and cruel way by the Russian war of aggression and the willingness of Hamas to wreak havoc on Israeli soil. It is accompanied by lies, propaganda and disinformation to disguise the irrational work of destruction. This is also the typical modus operandi of antisemites, who — in their perfidious agitation —make disgraceful efforts to lay the blame for the horrors of October 7 not on their perpetrators but on their victims. I hope that I have been able to convince you that this has had no effect on us and that we focus all our strength on the perpetrators to shed light on their machinations. We see the antisemitic attacks on our Jewish fellow citizens also as an attack on ourselves, on our liberty, on human dignity, and our free democratic basic order. It is the particular duty of all democrats to actively take responsibility for the safety of Jewish life in Germany, instead of only emphasizing its importance. That is the lesson from our history – and our maxim for the present. n Thomas Haldenwang is a lawyer and has served as the 14th Director General of BfV, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence service, since 2018. He did voluntary service on a kibbutz and visited Yad Vashem several times.
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