The Israeli flag was splashed across Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate on Monday night as a show of German solidarity with Israel in the wake of the deadly Jerusalem terrorist attack on Sunday.
Four Israeli military cadets aged 20 to 22 were killed when East Jerusalem resident Fadi el-Qanbar drove his truck onto the sidewalk and into soldiers leaving a bus at the Haas-Sherover Promenade in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem.
The soldiers were visiting the capital as part of the army’s “Culture Sundays,” in which troops are taken to important historical and national sites at the beginning of the week.
The four IDF personnel — three women and one man — were later named as Lieutenant Yael Yekutiel (20) of Givatayim, Cadet Shir Hajaj (22) of Maaleh Adumim, Cadet Shira Tzur (20) from Haifa, and Cadet Erez Orbach (20) from Alon Shvut. They were buried on Monday.
Avraham Nir-Feldklein, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel to Germany, welcomed the Brandenburg Gate display, according to i24 news. He said Israel was “moved by the gesture of the Berlin Senate and we are very grateful for the support of the German government and the people [and] for the consoling words of solidarity.”
“We all see us faced with the same terror, from Nice over Berlin to Jerusalem, but together we will face evil and we will win,” he was quoted in a Facebook post by the Israeli embassy.
“Today, the light of the Brandenburg Gate symbolizes the connection of our hearts,” Nir-Feldklein was quoted.
Israel Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to Twitter to offer his thanks.
The flag of Israel on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Thanks, Germany, for standing with us in our common struggle against terrorism. pic.twitter.com/n4TlYtwbDV
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 9, 2017
The German Foreign Ministry also used its Twitter account to explain the dramatic gesture: “The gate is lit up with the colors of the Israeli flag as a sign of solidarity with the victims of the terror attack that took place in Jerusalem.”
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