Merz says Germany faces historic test over rise in antisemitism

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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Germany faces a historic test in protecting its Jewish community as antisemitism grows. Speaking at a Munich synagogue on the anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom, he condemned the need for synagogues and kindergartens to rely on bulletproof glass and armed police.

BERLIN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Germany faced a test of its commitment to protecting its Jewish community as he decried the "horrifying sight" of kindergartens and synagogues protected by bulletproof glass and armed police. Speaking at a Munich synagogue on the anniversary of the "Kristallnacht" pogrom in 1938, which foreshadowed the Nazi Holocaust that would eventually slaughter more than 6 million European Jews, Merz said antisemitism had become "omnipresent".