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Racism ‘swept under carpet’ in Germany, says Boris Becker

Boris Becker says racism in Germany needs to be discussed openly after the tennis icon drew criticism on social media for taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest.

Racism 'swept under carpet' in Germany, says Boris Becker
Boris Becker. Photo: DPA

The six-time Grand Slam champion claims he was the target of angry comments “from Germany” on Twitter after participating in an anti-racism demonstration in London over the weekend.

Becker spoke out in a video message posted on the platform.

“I must have hit a sore spot with my Tweet about my family history” and Black Lives Matter, said Becker, whose ex-wife Barbara is the daughter of an African-American, while the mother of his second wife Lilly comes from Suriname.

“In our country it is swept a bit under the carpet and I think that's a pity.

“We should talk about it much more publicly”, said the 52-year-old, who called for more social engagement against racism in his native country.

“We are all one family.”

In an earlier Tweet, Becker said he was “shocked, shaken and horrified” by the “many insults ONLY from Germany”.

“Why, why, why? Have we become a country of racists…?” he added.

READ ALSO:

The death of George Floyd, who died in police custody on May 25th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sparked protests across Europe and Germany at the weekend.

A reported 20,000 turned out in Munich, along with 14,000 in Hamburg, 10,000 in Stuttgart, and large gatherings also took place in Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Cologne, Hanover, Frankfurt and several other cities.

In Berlin, an estimated 15,000 people attended a demonstration at the central Alexanderplatz, despite a registration for only 1,500. Police used Twitter to tell protesters that the event was ‘full' just 45 minutes after its scheduled start time and asked people to stop arriving.

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ISRAEL

Police arrest 59 at pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin

Police made 59 arrests while dozens of police officers were injured during violent clashes at a Pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin this weekend, police said on Sunday.

Police arrest 59 at pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin
Protesters take part in a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians called over the ongoing conflict with Israel on May 15, 2021 at Hermannplatz in Berlin. STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

Around 3,500 people had gathered in the German capital’s Neukölln district on Saturday afternoon in one of several rallies over the escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to police.

Protesters threw stones, bottles and fireworks as police tried to break up the demonstration, injuring 93 officers and prompting them to use pepper spray.

Several people were being investigated for shouting “anti-Israel slogans”, the police said.

Around 900 officers were deployed to several demonstrations during the day, with the others passing mainly peacefully.

Palestinian militants have launched more than 3,000 rockets into Israel over the past week, according to Israel’s army, which has launched hundreds of air strikes on Hamas and other Islamist groups in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza.

The most intense hostilities in seven years were triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Germany has seen several scattered demonstrations over the escalating conflict, with protesters shouting anti-Semitic slogans, burning Israeli flags and damaging the entrance to a synagogue with stones.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany on Sunday said it had received “a torrent of the most vile anti-Semitic insults” on social media.

READ ALSO: Germany’s Jews call for protection amid Israel-Palestinian clashes

Council president Josef Schuster urged the police to take a hard line against anti-Semitism and said recent events had been “reminiscent of the darkest times in German history”.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Sunday said Germany would crack down hard on anyone found to be spreading “anti-Semitic hatred”.

“We will not tolerate Israeli flags burning on German soil and Jewish institutions being attacked,” he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

READ ALSO: Germany slams ‘anti-Semitic’ demos and Hamas ‘terrorist attacks’
 
Speaking at an ecumenical church congress, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said “nothing can justify” threats to Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues. 

Some six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

The Jewish community in Germany has been growing since reunification in 1990, notably with the arrival of many thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union.

The arrival of refugees from Arab nations hostile to Israel, in 2015 and 2016, added to the prevailing anti-Semitism in some Muslim circles in Germany.

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