I'm sure you've been following the visit this morning. There was a press conference that Bennett and Merkel took. What are the highlights, you think, as far as what we heard from Merkel, mostly with regards to Iran and the Palestinian issue? Look, of course, you didn't come to Israel to this informal farewell trip to come with a scoop about the change in Iran policy or the German standpoint on the Palestinian issue. So it was really rather reiterating Germany's commitment, yes, on the one side, to a two-state solution, to a finding a diplomatic solution for the Iranian issue. But then again, emphasizing again and again that Israel's security remains an intrinsic and inseparable part of Germany's state of reason. We're now hearing the choir. Thank you, Melody. We'll be back with our two guests here in studio. But let's listen in to the ceremony there at Yad Vashem, a special ceremony taking place today, there, as the chancellor of Germany is visiting. I am honored to invite for excellency Dr. Angela Merkel to rekindle the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance. The eternal light in this Hall of Remembrance before the sacred remains of our martyrs will unite with the blessed memory of 6 million of our people who died a martyr's death at the hands of the German Nazis and their collaborators, of the Jewish communities destroyed in a wicked attempt and culture of Israel. We remember with veneration the fortitude of the fighters who kindled the sublime flame of rebellion among the besieged masses of the ghettos, the heroic and persistent struggle of the masses of the House of Israel on the threshold of destruction for their human dignity and their Jewish heritage. The righteous among the nations who risked their lives from persecution and death. I am honored to invite your excellency, the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, to lay the wreath on the slab under which the ashes of Holocaust victims from the extermination camps are buried. We're seeing images there from Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. If you're joining us now, Angela Merkel is visiting Israel today. It's her farewell visit as chancellor, just as coalition conversations and discussions are going on in Germany. Of course, she was earlier today meeting with Prime Minister Bennett. And she is due to speak at Yad Vashem very shortly. We'll be bringing you that speech live here as it starts. Meantime, we saw Merkel, of course, placing a wreath of honor there at Yad Vashem and also lighting the internal flame, of course, at Yad Vashem. With us are Avi Pazner and Melody Suhrerovich. Thank you very much again for being with us. You brought up earlier, Avi Pazner, the idea of the German-Israeli friendship and the backing that Israel has received from Germany over the course of the chancellorship of Merkel, while other countries are sometimes very critical of Israel in Europe. And my question to both of you is, if this is due to last forever, it's been more than 70 years. We marked 80 years to the massacre at the Babiyah. Of course, it's been more than 70 years since the end of World War II. And the question is, what Israel needs to do in order to maintain this good relationship and not take it for granted. Melody, we'll start with you. Well, the relationship between Israel and Germany under Angela Merkel certainly reached a new quality of political warmth and mutual understanding. But at the same time, throughout all those years, along with this friendship came a couple of crises, mini-crisis. And even though Germany certainly is Israel's most important strategic partner within the EU, Germany's voting behavior, for example, at the United Nations, not always showed or reflected this very important friendship. So there are certainly... Although a friend can also be critical. And then we are at the difference between criticism to aligning with Israel bashing authoritarian regimes, such as Iran and so on. So there have been a few question marks and raised eyebrows about things like the German voting behavior at the United Nations, things like the German policy vis-à-vis the Iranian regime. But at the same time, there's lots of optimism. And over the past 15, 16 years, you saw the development of a very, very motivated and strong infrastructure of pro-Israel and German-Israel relationships advancing civil society, a number of over 200 NGOs that take care of conferences. You have the annual Israel Day, where Israel's birthday independence is publicly celebrated in 70 German cities. So Israel and Germany, the friendship, the past, the presence, but also especially the future, are certainly something that will be on the agenda also post-Angolamaic. But back to my question, what does Israel need to do in order to maintain a good relationship and not take it for granted? I believe that what we see right now that Foreign Minister Lapid is doing is exactly what needs to be done, meaning signaling to the EU and to Germany that Israel wants open and very constructive dialogue with Germany, with the EU, understanding that there may be differences in policies when it comes to the Palestinian issue, when it comes to Germany's policy vis-à-vis the JCPOA and Iran at large. At the same time, understanding that only through dialogue and a very future-oriented but also creative approach to the bilateral relations will this intense relation grow stronger? And at the same time, and this is something both Israel and Germany should focus on, that is beyond the political establishment, meaning what can be done to ensure that the street level, especially in Germany, where surveys over the past decades show not-so-rosier trend, what can be done to make sure that the people in the street understand the relation between Germany and Israel is not just something born out of the past, but also something born that is a strategic interest and to the benefit of German citizens. Have you personally had the same question to you? No, I would say that we have to make sure, in some ways, that the next and future generations of young Germans keep that tradition of supporting Israel. I think this is the most important thing our government, our new government, can do with the German government. Okay, thank you very much. We're keeping it short, but Angela Merkel is about to begin her speech there at Yad Vashem, and we, of course, want to listen in. We'll be giving you a paraphrased translation of her speech, courtesy of Melody here with us in studio. Thank you, Melody Socherevich, again, our German-Israel relations expert. Merkel is currently signing the guest book there at Yad Vashem. We're seeing images from outside the main memorial hall at Yad Vashem where the ceremony earlier was taking place. Bennett and Danny Diane, Ambassador Danny Diane, of course, they're accompanying Angela Merkel. Danny Diane is actually the new chairman of the Jewish Agency. Not the Jewish Agency, Yad Vashem. Of the Yad Vashem, of course. We're seeing the chief rabbi there as well, chief rabbi of Israel. Avipazne, I cut you earlier, I thought Merkel was about to start, but I see we have a few more moments, please. So if there is a way the Israeli government can influence the German government in order to make sure that the educational system in Germany continues to give to the young generation of German this sense that they have, I would say, a will, a wish for themselves to do well for what their forefathers did. It is very difficult to pass from generation to pass from the sense of guilt that the first or second generation had. Also there is something healthy, some would say, in the erosion of the sense of guilt and then in the construction of a future. I'm asking you because there's also a lot of criticism about what Israel is doing within the Palestinian Authority and the West Bank and Gaza, et cetera. And what can Israel do to, on one hand, hear some of the German criticism and not make the Germans think or feel like they have to just align with Israel 100% because of the past and because future generations might get sick of that at some point. You are absolutely right, Ariel. And I think that the present Israeli government and the present Palestinian Authority are unable because of their political weakness or the composition of the Israeli government to do concrete things to get an agreement between Israeli and Palestinians. But what we can do is to try to better the lot of the Palestinians. This is certainly something we should also be interested to do. It's in our own interest and it will have positive reflections abroad. For example, in Gaza, we can reach an agreement of some kind to better their lives. Okay, let's listen in. Thank you, Abipas, now to Angela Merkel speaking today, now live at Yad Vashem. So the chancellor is referring to the revival of Jewish life in Germany after the Shoah, for which Germans are eternally thankful. Naturally referring to the need to fight against anti-Semitism and hatred against Jews, which over the years has been on the rise in Germany. We seem to have a slight sound problem from Yad Vashem at the moment, but of course it's something that we're working to fix. Angela Merkel just started speaking. She was speaking about the revival of Jewish life in Germany after the Holocaust, and we're trying to get the line there fixed so we can hear the rest of her. Which, by the way, is celebrating 1,700 years of history this year at Jewish life in Germany? I think the sound is bad. It's back. And then kept in a hidden place with his daughter Ingrid. It is heavy, so I will not present it physically, but I will present one picture of Moses from the Mount of Nego, something of the land of Israel at the Promised Land. Unfortunately, during those days, the Promised Land was closed for Jews, for their salvation, and Moses came too late. But this is a reminder of the words of God, although it is that we would like you to come. Thank you. In your six, but I'm sure not your last visit to Yad Vashem. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You want to go again? Yes. Come on. We're going to listen now to Bennett. We're still not sure if Merkel will continue her speech later. I'll be translating a bit of what Bennett says to you today. Dear distinguished guests, the Jewish word Shoah for Holocaust is used to describe the destruction of the Jewish people during World War II. This origin is from Tehillim, the Himalaya of Akshu Nafshi. The original meaning is nothingness, emptiness. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, the Hebrew word for Holocaust Shoah. Of course, we're hearing the official translation there at Yad Vashem. Describe the extermination of the Jewish people during World War II. Come show me the Psalms. The verb that seek my soul to destroy. The original meaning of the word Shoah is whatever loaded us. The goal of the Nazis was to leave behind a wilderness, a complete destruction of our people. A third of the Jewish people perished. Six-minute people, women and children. But still, when they come out of Yad Vashem and see the history of the Jewish people, they are really impressed by what we have here. And the families of the people, with their children and children, are very happy with their families. They realize that, as a gift from God, God will give them the gift. When one leaves Yad Vashem, one can see the word of the prophet Zechariah, how they're now coming into life. And the broad places of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the broad places thereof. One then understands that from the great catastrophe, how great it was, the greater is also the miracle. Between Israel the strong, the strong, the optimistic of our right hand, and between the Shoah, the great history of the people, and the difficult, the tragic, the most beloved of our generations, there are only a few differences. Between the strong, prosperous, optimistic Israel of our days, and between the Holocaust, the greatest genocide in history, and those difficult, tragic, painful chapter in the history of our people, only a few decades separate between them. Between the strong, the optimistic of our right hand, the great, the optimistic of our right hand, and between the strong, the optimistic of our right hand, and between the strong, the optimistic of our right hand. There are many lessons from the Holocaust. Even decades later the Jewish people have not yet deeply realized the catastrophe that befell upon them. To me the most important lesson is the simplest and most obvious of them all. The place of the Jewish people is on the land, in the land of Israel. The Holocaust is not the reason for the existence of the State of Israel. The connection of the Jewish people to their lands has not begun in Auschwitz. But Auschwitz, with all our brothers and sisters who perished there, strengthens in us the determination to never again be defenseless people far from the homeland. For me, as a believing Jew, as an Israeli, in whom the past of his people is embedded, and follows him wherever he goes, the future of our nation. For me, as a believing Jew, as an Israeli, in whom the past of his people is embedded, and follows him wherever he goes, the future of his nation. as an Israeli in whom the past of his people is embedded and follows him wherever he goes. As someone whose branches and family were eradicated in the Holocaust and are commemorated here by their names, as the prime minister of Israel, whose future is entrusted to him, all roads lead to Jerusalem. Thank you. Please follow me. That was Prime Minister Bennett speaking there as he's accompanying Angela Merkel on her visit to Yad Vashem today. We heard just a very short sentence from Merkel. We are supposed to get a longer speech from her on this occasion at Yad Vashem, and of course when this happens, we'll bring it to you live. I know we had some sound difficulties, but Avipazne, from what you've heard from Bennett, what are some of the highlights of his words today? Bennett said what every prime minister ever said at Yad Vashem. I mean the horror of the tragedy, the biggest Holocaust in the history of mankind, our determination not to forget that ever, but at the same time the same determination to try and patch relations with the new Germany. I mean there was nothing, it was said beautifully, but I didn't find any new element in the speech of Bennett that I didn't hear from other prime ministers before him because it is very difficult Avilele. It is very difficult to find some, all of us, all Israelis, all Jews, we feel the same about that, we say the same, and it is very difficult to invent some new angle to that unless you want really to create a new reality which is not the case with Naftali Bennett. Melody, let's talk about the forming government in Germany. We said how good the relationship was between Israel and Germany under the chancellorship of Merkel. What are some of the challenges that Israel may face with the new government in Germany? Well on the surface right now it looks like this is going towards as they say in Germany a traffic light coalition, meaning one that is led by the Socialist Party, exactly. And then on the surface you would imagine that there may be a policy shift towards the left. I believe that Olaf Scholz, who then would be the chancellor, has previously shown that he commits very much like Angela Merkel to Israel's security as being part of the German raison d'être. And he is somebody who has appeared at numerous demonstrations or events that are supposed to express support for Israel and for the security, the safety of the Jewish community in Germany. He has been at the same time, like many German politicians, especially from the Socialist Party, possibly slightly too lenient towards certain attacks against Israel, towards a trend of growing anti-Semitism, especially among the Muslim immigrant community, which of course is very, very tangible dimensions since 2015, since the mass immigration by immigrants. From Syria especially. From Syria, from Iraq, Afghanistan, and from many more also North African countries in the meantime. And Germany does have an anti-Semitism problem that's no secret. Everybody knows it. Neither the Socialist nor the Conservatives try to hide that. The question is just how do you deal with it? And are you tolerant towards anti-Semitism coming out of a political or an ideological camp that you don't necessarily oppose? Thank you. And we want to turn to our correspondent in Berlin now, Paulina Garev, of course, is in Berlin following this visit. Paulina, what sort of coverage is this visit getting in Berlin today? Well, it's definitely attracting much media attention. And the quotes from the statements this morning, especially one saying that Germany cannot be neutral when it comes to Israel's security.  This is, of course, when Prime Minister Bennett mentioned this during the government meeting, he was quoting Merkel herself. And these are, of course, statements that we've heard, heard, say time and time again whenever she visited Israel or met with Israeli leaders. But of course, there is a different atmosphere to this visit, specifically because it is, unofficially, a farewell visit. And while it is devoted to working matters, the topic of Iran was repeated and mentioned time and time again, same as the two-state solution. Still, the significance of Merkel's legacy is that the focus here and what it means also for the future relations in Israel is was now being discussed in the studio. How will this relationship change is something that is now being analyzed in Germany as well. Now, Polina, in the backdrop of Chancellor Merkel's visit to Israel, we're seeing the continuation of trials in Germany.


S.P.M. Bars. What's up guys, welcome to S.P.M. Bars. My good name is Miski Thinge. It's a beautiful evening right here at the Panari Hotel whereby Paul's Music Video Awards is going down today. It's on the 21st of December. Probably just closing in the air right now. And guys, we are waiting to see which artist is going to be walking away with what award. And you can be sure that we are going to be speaking to them and just hearing what do they have to say?  Stay tuned on S.P.M. Bars as we keep you informed on what is going on at the Paul's Music Video Awards.