Should Germany's President give his Knesset speech in German?

Some Israeli MPs intend to boycott a speech by German President Horst Köhler in parliament this month to mark the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations, the Israel newspaper "Maariv" daily has reported. "With survivors of the Holocaust living among us, it is inappropriate that the German language should be heard on the floor of the Knesset," Health Minister Danny Naveh was quoted as saying. The deputy speaker of the chamber, Hemi Doron, also stressed his unhappiness about the prospect of German being spoken in parliament during Köhler's visit, to take place early in February. Jewish literature critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki from Germany, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, came out strongly in favor of German being spoken. He told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that the criticism was "shameful and unbelievable", and called the idea that the use of German could soil the memory of the victims as "complete nonsense".