Katsav address to German Bundestag will mark 40 years of diplomatic relations

Israel's president Moshe Katsav will address the German parliament on 31 May during a visit marking 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Katsav's visit to Germany follows a trip to Israel in February by his German counterpart, Horst Koehler, who in a speech to Israel's parliament expressed "shame and humility" toward the victims of the Holocaust and promised that Germany would wage a determined battle against anti-Semitism. Israel and then West Germany established diplomatic relations on 12 May 1965. "Relations between our countries will always have a special character, marked by the unspeakable crimes and suffering of the Shoah," German chancellor Gerhard Schröder said in a statement marking the anniversary, adding: "Today, Germany and Israel are friends and partners. Our commitment to Israel's right to exist within secure borders is and will remain an unshakable fundamental tenet of German policy."