Israel Urges Germany to Cut Public Funding for Palestinian Clergyman
The Israeli Embassy in Berlin urged Baden-Württemberg to halt funding for Palestinian clergyman Mitri Raheb over his praise of the October 7 massacre.
Israel Demands Germany Cut Funding for Palestinian Clergyman
The Israeli Embassy in Berlin has submitted an urgent diplomatic request to the leadership of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, demanding an immediate halt to public funding and all ties with Palestinian clergyman Mitri Raheb. Raheb, who serves as president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, sparked international outrage by openly supporting and praising the October 7 massacre.
Praise for October 7 and Continued Controversy
On the day of the attack, Raheb used social media to glorify the atrocities, writing that Palestinians continue to demonstrate new forms of creative resistance. Days later, he continued to justify the mass terror attacks, arguing that occupation will continue to generate resistance and calling for decolonization. Despite these statements, the local coalition government in Baden-Württemberg, comprising the Green Party and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has maintained close cooperation with organizations linked to Raheb.
"Any entity that finances Raheb's antisemitic hatred becomes an accomplice to a crime, and this is a moral stain on Germany." — John Hagee, CUFI
International and Local Backlash
The Israeli demand has received widespread support from Jewish and Christian Zionist organizations worldwide. The Simon Wiesenthal Center also called on local government officials to wake up, stop turning a blind eye to radical accounts, and take immediate action against expressions of antisemitism and support for Hamas within their territory.
