Thousands Of Israelis Now Call Berlin Home And Make Their Cultural Mark

"For decades after the Holocaust, many Jews refused to visit Germany. Some still do."

"But now it has become common to hear Hebrew spoken in the bakeries and bars of Berlin."

"At least 10,000 Israelis are estimated to have moved to the German capital in the last decade, according to Tal Alon, the Berlin-based editor of the Hebrew-language magazine Spitz. (The Israeli Embassy in Germany said it had no official statistic.)"

"Though the community is much smaller than some of the other immigrant groups in the city of more than 3.5 million, Israelis punch above their weight culturally. They are helping drive Berlin's blossoming culinary scene, with several high-end Israeli restaurants in the city including Layla, opened last fall by Tel Aviv celebrity chef Meir Adoni. And the director of Berlin's Maxim Gorki Theater, Yael Ronen, is Israeli, as is Daniel Barenboim, the conductor of Berlin's state opera."