BERLIN (EJP)---The president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), Ronald Lauder, expressed his growing concerns about Iran’s threats in the Middle East, during his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier since his election at the head of the Jewish organization.

"We must not let fanatics such as (Iran’s President) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad destabilize the entire region," Lauder, who was elected in June, told the German leaders.

According to Merkel's spokesperson, the Chancellor said she supports "wholeheartedely" the proposal by the so-called 'E3 plus 3' - Germany, France and the United Kingdom- for a UN resolution condemning Iran for its nuclear program. "I am committed to countering the aggressive rhetoric of Iran which confronts Israel, and Iran's nuclear projects," she told EJP. 

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany agreed last Friday to delay a vote on tougher sanctions on Iran until late November at the earliest.

Lauder praised Merkel’s leadership and called for a bigger role for Germany in the Middle East. "Six decades after the Holocaust, Germany under Mrs Merkel commands sufficient respect among the family of nations to be a measured and moderate force in world affairs. It has become a symbol for democracy, the rule of law and the protection of minorities in the world."

Lauder’s talks with Merkel also focused on rising anti-Semitism in Europe, the protection of vulnerable Jewish communities in Germany and central and eastern countries.

The WJC president supported tough measures against the threat posed by Islamist terrorism. “Not only Jews but Western society as a whole needs the strong democratic state,” he said.

Extreme-right groups

He condemned developments in certain central European countries where extreme-right paramilitary groups where being formed and who parade in the streets, like recently in Hungary.

“The specter of Nazism and Fascism must not be allowed to get the upper hand again in Europe,” Lauder stressed.

He said he supported calls by German NGOs for an annual report on anti-Semitism to be compiled, like in other countries.

At his meeting with Merkel, Lauder was accompanied by the President of the European Jewish Congress Moshe Kantor, Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the new WJC secretary general Michael Schneider.

The WJC is a representative organization for Jewish communities in 80 countries around the world.