Sharon praises German efforts against anti-Semitism

Israel's prime minister Ariel Sharon has said that Germany was leading the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe. Sharon's comments came as the two countries mark the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. "Germany is leading the fight against anti-Semitism in Europe and helps Israel in the cases of (Israeli) soldiers taken prisoner or reported missing," Sharon said at his weekly cabinet meeting. He was referring to Germany's efforts in the 1980s to discover the fate of four Israeli soldiers missing in Lebanon. Officials said earlier that foreign minister Silvan Shalom was due to meet Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and other top officials in Germany this week to mark the anniversary of ties between the two nations.