Knesset speaker to Scholz: ‘You’re facing a challenge we hoped belonged in history’

Carrie Keller-Lynn is a former political and legal correspondent for The Times of Israel

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with Israeli Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, in Levy’s parliamentary office.

“In your short time in office, you are facing a challenge that we hoped would belong in the history books,” the Knesset speaker tells Scholz.

In January, Levy delivered an emotional speech in Germany’s Bundestag in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today, Levy invites Scholz to make a reciprocal address to the Knesset plenum in the future.

Levy says he and Scholz also discussed the chancellor’s decision to invest €100 billion ($110 billion) in a special military fund to strengthen Germany’s army and security, announced on Sunday along with Germany’s intention to increase its NATO funding, both in response to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

“You have made a quick decision that looks reality in the eye and looks to the future,” Levy says. “Recent developments require us all to rethink foreign and security issues.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) meets with Israeli Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy (2nd left), at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 2, 2022 (Courtesy)

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