Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will not hold a planned round of Middle East talks. Apparently he bowed to criticism of the composition.
A round of discussions on the Middle East has been canceled by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. It was supposed to take place next week at Bellevue Palace. The invitations were entitled “How do we talk about the war in the Middle East?” the director of the Anne Frank educational institution, Meron Mendel, the journalist Tilo Jung and the expert on German-Israeli relations, Melody Sucharewicz, Steinmeier wanted to give a speech and then discuss it with his guests.
But there was criticism of the occupation, reports the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. For example, it was criticized that no Palestinian voice had been invited.
Federal President’s Office: “Round table does not serve the goal”
In a statement from the Federal President’s Office, which the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” quotes and which is also available to the German Press Agency, it now says: “The Federal President’s Office has come to the conclusion that the round table planned for May 2nd in the current “The tense situation does not serve the goal of strengthening social peace. The event will therefore not take place at this time.”
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th and the start of the war in the Middle East, the Federal President has invited people to round tables several times. The aim was to counter anti-Semitism, hatred and violence, to open up space for the pain of all sides, to enable dialogue and to strengthen social peace, the statement continued. Interlocutors with different positions, perspectives and backgrounds were invited.
