President Reuven Rivlin held an online farewell conversation on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which the two expressed their appreciation for the progress Israel and Germany have made during Rivlin's tenure.
"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you before you leave office [on July 7]," Merkel began.
She thanked Rivlin for his efforts to progress relations between the two countries, as well as the values he instilled during his term as president.
"I've always valued exchanges with you," Merkel continued, mentioning that the "absolute pinnacle" of her meetings with Rivlin was the luncheon she had with him and "all the Israeli dignitaries present."
"Jews in Germany suffered from hatred and violence they had never known before," Merkel said at Yad Vashem. "Since then, Germany is always responsible for remembering this crime and for fighting violence, xenophobia and hatred in general."
Merkel was additionally given the honor of lighting the Eternal Flame and laying a wreath in the name of the German government, part of a ceremony to commemorate those who were murdered in the Holocaust.
"You knew the citizens of Israel in depth, about our culture, about our customs, about all the principles that are important to us."
During the address, Merkel said "the Holocaust brought indescribable suffering to the Jewish people, Europe and the entire
world" and that it "fills us Germans with shame.
"I bow my head before the victims. I bow before the survivors and before all those who helped them so they could survive," she declared.
"Respect for our common humanity is rooted in our responsibility for the past.
Merkel additionally denounced Iran's threats against Israel and its nuclear plans.
"If Iran ever acquires nuclear weapons, the consequences will be disastrous – first and foremost for the security and existence of Israel, secondly for the entire region and ultimately, far beyond that, for all of us in Europe and the world, for all who cherish the values of freedom, democracy and human dignity," Merkel warned.
"Germany will never forsake Israel but will remain a true friend and partner," she promised at the conclusion of the speech.
If “education and education and enlightenment are not enough” to curb such tendencies, “we must resort to... disciplinary action as sanctioned by our criminal law,” Merkel said.
In light of recent rise antisemitic incidents in Germany, Merkel said her government “will continue to take decisive action against protests in Germany that spread hatred and antisemitism.”
In his parting meeting, Rivlin thanked Merkel for her constant, steadfast support of Israel, especially during the recent round of violence, and her fight against antisemitism in Germany, as she had promised in 2008.
"You are a personality that brings the free world to understand why should we remain always part of the free world, part of democracy" he told her, including freedom of speech, religion, and worship.
"Freedom of every human being as a human being."
He told Merkel, "You are great leader... one of the most important leaders in our time."
Merkel was awarded an honorary doctorate by Haifa University in 2018 for her leadership, which Haifa University described as "grounded in principles of equality, freedom and human rights."