Less than 10 years ago, Germany, and especially Berlin, was held up as a beacon of openness and inclusivity in a western world rocked by Brexit and Donald Trump. Angela Merkel’s decision to take in thousands of refugees displaced by the war in Syria boosted her country’s reputation in progressive circles, with many international artists and academics choosing to make the German capital their new home.
Yet the conflict in the Middle East is showing Germany in a new light, highlighting fissures in society and the arts world that until now had been easier to ignore.
Crime against jewish people is on the rise in Germany, as are neonazis. Hate crimes against jews were also rising before the Gaza war, by the way.
If Germany didn’t try to protect jewish people it would mean they learnt nothing from the past.
The chancellor has said the safety and security of Israel is Germany’s raison d’êtat.
Before I het downvoted to hell by Gaza sympathisers, let me add that Israel is currently committing massive war crimes against the palestinian people and those responsible must be tried and punished in an international court of law.
All of these things can be true at the same time:
a) Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity
b) Hamas has committed crimes against humanity
c) Israel has a right to existence and to security
d) Palestine has a right to existence and to security
I don’t get how some people feel they have to pick only two out of these four.
They’re not protecting ‘Jewish people’. They’re protecting Israel. There’s a massive difference.
They’re protecting Israel by persecuting hate crimes committed inside of Germany?
Most of Israel’s population are either fleeing persecution in other middle Eastern countries or descended from people who fled persecution in the middle east. Both Christians and Muslims have the luxury of having entire continents where they are the majority of the population. Whenever Muslims get persecuted Iran and Saudi Arabia and the majority of the middle east/ north Africa/ se Asia will stand behind them. With Christians Europe and the Americas. The only country where Jews are in the majority is Israel. It’s the only place in the world where the Jewish people are guaranteed protection by a government. So yeah actually protecting Israel and the Jewish people are one and the same.
Oh yeah, tell that to Assyrians from Nineveh plain. Or even NK Armenians.
Sober up a bit, this piece of text doesn’t make any sense.
there is not a massive difference. jewish and israeli identity are intertwined. Many jewish people sought refuge in israel because they had nowhere else to go. European jews after WW2 or arab jews in the late 40s/50s who were expelled out of muslim countries, for example. And again, defending israel’s right to exist is not the same as defending the israeli government or the war crimes the idf commits.
They don’t, but you are making it seem as if Israel’s right to exist and security is not endangered much less than that of Gazans, and as if Hamas’ crimes are in any way comparable.
That is, your are lying without actually saying a direct lie, which is a valid combination, really not unusual for Germans I might add.
You are putting words into my mouth in order to be able to disagree. Also, I’m not German. You might want try to keep the racist stereotyping in check.