Inserts:

00:03 Report / Alex Gerst
00:32 Michael Fürst / Director Jewish Community Lower Saxony
01:16 Lars Harmsen / Interior Ministry Spokesperson
01:59 Michael Fürst / Director Jewish Community Lower Saxony

SCRIPT:

00.01
Pictures of wounded and traumatized children have emerged daily from Gaza since the war began in October 2023. 

But few are getting the help they need, with most of the Strip's medical infrastructure now destroyed by Israeli strikes. 

((PIX: Kids in Gaza)) 

Now, a joint Jewish-Palestinian initiative in Hanover is calling for some of these children, along with traumatized children from Israel, to be brought to Germany for treatment. 

((PIX: Pressekonferenz)) 

00.31
+++SOT Michael Fürst, Director Jewish Community Lower Saxony+++  

This is a matter of humanity, not of being Jewish or Muslim. This is about humans being humans. We have to act. We cannot just accept this. We have to try to make a difference for the future. If we let the children grow up only in war, as is happening now, then there will never be any mutual understanding.  

00.57
According to the World Health Organization, more than 4,500 Gazan children need medical evacuation.  

But the German Interior Ministry is hesitant about stepping up efforts to bring them to Germany

((PIX: Bundestag, showing CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group))  

01.10
+++DW Reporter+++ ((In RegierungsPK))   
Do you consider the people from Gaza accompanying the children a higher risk, or what is the problem?  
 
01.14
+++SOT Lars Harmsen, Interior Ministry Spokesperson+++   
There are various considerations. Of course, we do not generally regard accompanying persons as a security issue or anything like that. However, it is one aspect that must be looked at in the context of such initiatives.  

1:32
Leading conservatives and their parliamentary group argue that providing aid within Germany is not a priority.

01.40
+++ Quote Card Alexander Hoffmann (CSU)+++  
Humanitarian aid must be provided in close proximity to Gaza so that people can return after the military operations against Hamas. But migration to Germany cannot be the answer.  

1:52
That's not a concern shared by the initiators of the plan.   

1:57
+++SOT Michael Fürst, Chairman of the Jewish Community, Lower Saxony +++   
That is complete nonsense. We are not calling for migration to Germany. We do not want these children to stay in Germany permanently. What we want is for these children to receive help.   
(...)  
I really don't care when politicians tell me it can’t be done.  
d
2:12
Other cities have joined the call.  

And are keeping up the pressure on the governing coalition. 

In a first step, Hanover's Palestinian and Jewish communities together with city authorities are ready to provide care for up to 20 children.  

If Germany's government allows them to.  

+++END+++