Volker Beck, the president of the Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft (DIG), believes that the newly appointed Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Semitism, Katharina von Schnurbein, is an excellent choice. Beck remarked to the newspapers of the Funke Media Group (Tuesday editions) that von Schnurbein is an intelligent woman with a winning personality, adding that this quality could be beneficial for her new office.
He noted that her experience within the European Union is a crucial advantage. Beck stated that she has achieved a great deal there, even though work at the European level can be more bureaucratic and slow-moving than domestic national policy. Beck expressed his excitement about collaborating with her and offered his hope that in her new role, von Schnurbein will tackle three central issues: criminal prosecution of threats of extermination against Israel, better protection against anti-Semitic discrimination faced by Israelis, and a reform of budget law to prevent anti-Semitic organizations from receiving state funding.
The former EU official, von Schnurbein, will officially take over the position of the Federal Government Anti-Semitism Commissioner on Wednesday. Previously, she held a similar function within the European Commission in Brussels. She succeeds Felix Klein, who held the office for eight years before moving on to become the Permanent Representative of Germany to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.
