Government and Jews Sign Pact on Equality
Germany and the country’s fast-growing Jewish community signed an agreement giving the nation’s main Jewish organization the same legal status as the country’s main churches.
The accord came on the 58th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Germany’s Jewish population has grown from 15,000 after World War II to 100,000, boosted by immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
The accord triples the Central Council of Jews’ annual government funding to $3.2 million, which can be used to finance institutions such as schools.
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