The Central Council of Jews in Germany has elected Dieter Graumann to the presidency of its 105,000 member community, prompting a sea-change for Germany's Jews. The 60-year old Mr Graumann is the council's first Israeli-born, non-Holocaust survivor leader.
Mr Graumann, the son of Polish Jewish survivors of the Shoah, succeeds the 78-year old Charlotte Knobloch, who survived the Holocaust by hiding in Bavaria in the house of a Catholic family as a young girl. She will continue to be president of the Munich Jewish community.
As an 18-months-old child, Dieter Graumann, born in Haifa, left Israel for Germany with his immediate family. Today he runs a property management company in Frankfurt. He is married with two children and previously worked for the German Federal Bank.
Combating "Muslim and Islamic antisemitism" in Germany, would play an important role, said Mr Graumann. He noted that in Germany, one had "always to be conscious of the Holocaust but not incessantly Holocaust-centred."