Steinmeier calls for ‘joint future’ between Israelis and Germans

With the two countries still reeling from a diplomatic spat, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier calls for a “joint future” between Israelis and German, during a speech at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

“Germany would not be the country that it is today without the hand that was extended to us by our Israeli friends,” Steinmeier tells the audience.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, May 7, 2017. (Raphael Ahren/Times of Israel)

“With the Shimon Peres Memorial Prize, we will honor young Israelis and Germans who work on problems that are equally relevant to our two countries – be it working for peace, or questions of demographic change, climate change or digitization,” he says of the award he is being given by the university. “The message here — very much in the spirit of Shimon Peres himself — is that if we want a joint future, let us get to work!”