Germany’s government and civil society together must fight anti-Semitism among refugees, Anti-Semitism in Germany, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Speaking Monday to more than 100 parliamentarians from some 40 countries gathered in Berlin for the third Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism, Merkel also said that Jews must feel free to speak up when they fear anti-Semitism and they must be received with sympathy and concern.

The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, has been criticized for expressing fears about anti-Semitism among new refugees arriving in Germany from Muslim countries.

More than 1 million people have sought asylum in Germany in the past year.

“It is perfectly legitimate for someone to share his concern,” Merkel said, noting that many refugees “have grown up with certain stereotypes.”

“Anti-Semitism and other prejudices have no place in our society,” Merkel said.

“If gravestones are defaced, then our country itself is defaced. If synagogues are vandalized, this shakes the foundations of our free society,” the German Chancellor stressed.

‘’Demonstrators who call for the destruction of Israel are simply giving vent to hatred of Jews. In so doing, they abuse the fundamental rights in our country to freedom of association and expression.”

Fighting all manifestations of anti-Semitism and hate is the “joint role of government and civil society.”

Jewish communities must not be left to fend for themselves against anti-Semitism, Jewish leaders and politicians said at the Berlin gatherin, the third major interparliamentary conference on anti-Semitism.

“We all have to do our part,” Michael O’Flaherty, director of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), said at the opening of the Berlin gathering.

On the table of the meeting are the challenges of Internet hate, community relations and anti-Semitism in sport, as well as legal, parliamentary and governmental responses to anti-Semitism. Best practices for combating anti-Semitism are discussed at the three-day conference, which started Sunday.

European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans was also due to address the conference.

by Maud Swinnen