Jewish body calls for Bundeswehr rabbis

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany on Thursday proposed introducing military rabbis to cater to the spiritual needs of Jewish soldiers serving in the armed forces.

"Seventy years after the end of World War II, it's time to again establish a Jewish military chaplaincy in the Bundeswehr and to build on an old tradition," council president Josef Schuster wrote in a column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

He said the change would be fitting given the important role Catholic and Protestant priests already have in the ethical education of soldiers.  

Read more: Central Council for Jews in Germany celebrates 60 years

Need for rabbis, imams

For decades after the war, it was unthinkable for many Jews to enlist in the German army because of the role the Nazi-run military played in the Holocaust, Schuster wrote.

But things have now changed, he added: "Young Jews, of course, consider Germany to be their home." 

There are currently around 300 Jewish soldiers serving in the Bundeswehr. Introducing military rabbis based on a treaty with the state, Schuster said, would enrich the "ethical and lifelong education" of all soldiers.

Read more: Muslims say Germany should provide Bundeswehr with imams

In January, the Social Democrats — the junior partners in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition — voiced their support for the provision of Jewish and Muslim counsel  in the German army.

nm/rt (KNA, epd, dpa)

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