Anyone wondering about how much progress those promoting hatred of Israel have made in recent years need only look at Germany. German governments have combined an understanding of the legacy of the Holocaust with a natural reticence about criticizing the Jewish state even when European political fashion has made such sentiments commonplace on the continent. But apparently that appears to be giving way to a willingness on the part of some of the country’s elites to promote some of the worst slanders against Israel.
As the Jerusalem Post reports, Sigmar Gabriel, the head of Germany’s Social Democratic Party and a likely challenger to Chancellor Angela Merkel in the next parliamentary election, posted on his Facebook page today a statement that Israel “is an apartheid regime, for which there is no justification.” Though he subsequently sought to explain the remark by seeking to limit his slur as applying only to the situation in Hebron (where an embattled small Jewish community lives under siege conditions surrounded by a hostile Arab majority) and also expressed his support for Israel’s existence and right to defend himself, that a possible future German chancellor would be willing to use such language illustrates the extent to which Palestinian propaganda has come to dominate mainstream discourse in Europe.
Hebron is a ticking time bomb where the proximity of Jews and Arabs to each other has led to much violence and hatred. But to imply that the Jewish presence in this place where a Jewish community was massacred in the last century by Palestinian mobs is somehow a form of racism is outrageous. For Gabriel to employ the language of South Africa to Israel is a short step to the delegitimization of the Jewish state. Those who would deny to Jews the same rights they reserve for themselves and others are practicing anti-Semitism. That is a line that no European, let alone a German, should dare to cross.
That the leader of Germany’s second largest party would think nothing of writing in this manner speaks volumes about the way the SPD has adopted the terminology of the far left on Israel. It also highlights the way European elites, even those in Germany where a special relationship has always existed with the modern Jewish state, have come to view the Middle East conflict through the prism of Arab nationalists and Islamists who view the Jewish presence in the country as the cause of the conflict. The real advocates of apartheid and racial cleansing in the region are not the Jews but Palestinians who think Jews must be evicted from the country. Even if Gabriel expressly opposes that goal, by using the language by which Israel may be made a pariah he has strengthened the expectation by the Palestinians that they can reject peace without paying any price.
Though Merkel’s attitude toward Israel has often been critical, it appears that if she is defeated by Gabriel, the result will be even more isolation for Israel in Europe.
The EU does not need propaganda. Fundamentally, Europeans are antisemites. They just hate more the Muslims than the Jews. But they dare not criticize the Muslims. A few paid for it with their life and Europe did NOTHING.
Not everybody sees Israel they way this publication does. This is the second article focusing on what you refer to as smears. You bring up and make a big deal out of things that probably would have gone unnoticed if not for your coverage. You are creating enemies and giving them power while overselling your position and possibly eroding support among people who are only mildly interested in Israel and might withdraw the support they are giving if given a good enough reason. Droning on about the mountains you have made out of mole hills diminishes you in the eyes of some readers. Look at how the GOP is single handedly driving moderat voters to the democrats by using conservative media to smear the president. Nit picking him to death.
hmmmm…i daresay that the publication of 'mein kampf' was also something "that might have gone unnoticed"..oops- it did go unnoticed! let's remember that even paranoids have real enemies and I submit that anyone thinking in terms of israel being 'an apartheid state" has already espoused the arab narrative…
The German stated his point of view which may also be the arab point of view, but with possibly less heat. You also tied Hitler and the Nazi's together with his statement and the arab point of view. Israel is not a for me or against me issue for everybody the way it is for this publication. For some people it is a none of the above. It is those people that need to be won over and I don't think your response to me or the way these articles mind read other peoples thoughts and then condems them as terrorist sympathizers when they may just be describing what they disagree with is a great strategy for winning people over. I am sure it works fine for rallying the troops, but why keep the the troops whipped up and stressed out if their is nothing for them to do? Israel knows exactly who it's enemies are be sure of that.
Lies and distortions left unchallenged become truth to those who don't know better. Those who lie and distort are emboldened by lack of challenge. The reason others see Israel in different ways than the writers of this publication is because a rather small group of noisy individuals have been able to present a contrary but largly discredited narrative. There are those who wish to assign value to the narrative because it is easier to live with the lie than to admit that we don't want to offend the people who have oil by choosing to be idealistic. Easy because from Europe and the US the consequences are paid by others far away while we benefit.
I get your point. It would be a shame if good people tuned out because the message is being over sold. I don't consider these articles offensive at all and I don't like lies because they waste my time and the truth always surfaces any way.. I have noticed in my own experience with this publication assumtions are made that may not be true in fact. People who may disagree with a tactic or strategy may not actually be out to get you and if people think that you feel that way you may be viewed as obsessed with phantom enemies and lacking credibility. I am on your side and just making an observation. If this strategy works well more power to you.
Well I suppose that some don’t let the facts get in the way.
Using a word that in the situation is devoid of meaning implies a certain dishonesty.
Just like Human Rights in the manner it is employed nowadays displays the hypocrisy.
As for nit-picking the President, well he has only himself to blame when for example, in the case of Libya he said
“Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action.”
while in the case of Syria where the slaughter has already risen to more than 10 thousand men, women and children he is in agreement with Britain’s Cameroon
“We think that the fastest way to end the killing, which is what we all want to see, is for (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) to go,” Cameron said. “So the way we should try to help bring that about is through diplomatic pressure, sanctions pressure, political pressure, the pressure that (U.N.-Arab League envoy) Kofi Annan can bring to bear. That is where our focus is.”
Terrible Republicans for nit-picking about the flip-flopping on policies, which is approaching Kerry standards.
The word apartheid is one of those words, like racist and nigger, that are not intended to do anything but shut your opponent up. That is the only purpose their use is intended to serve. Moreover, it is one of those terms that liberals use which, in their own mind, are self-proving. They prove their assertion by their mere utterance.
What people are ignorant about is the use of the A word and how it was propagated by Desmond Tutu, an all time disliker of Jews (ask those who came into contact with him when Bishop of Johannesburg in South Africa) as he with Naim Ateek and the Sabeel group in the States have pushed the Anglican Church’s Replacement Theology to discredit Israel=Jews.
When others use the same terminology in the same sense they are climbing aboard the same wagon.
Well, I for one(who is living in Europe) see a sea change among the youths. They see the anti-liberal as well as the burning anti-Semitism of many of their muslim immigrants and then can't picture how the same people roll over and claim to be victims of Apartheid and Colonialism and what not. n nBut these people are in their early 20s. It will take time for this change to seep through. However, Israel's huge natural gas and oil finds should probably make Europe more friendly towards Israel just like the Arab oil lobby has in the meantime, because that's what this is about. And, of course, domestic vote collecting. In some countries about 90 % of the muslims vote for the social democratic parties(for benefits and because of latent and at times not-so-latent hostility towards Israel). This means that these parties' votebase is disporportionately made up of people who hate Israel. Which is yet another factor to consider when reading these statements. n nHowever, Europe is Israel's biggest trading partner by far. And as their disparate countries are slowly becomming a superstate, it will gain importance as time moves on and this current debt crisis is shaken off. Israel can't afford to ignore it, or it will fall.
Great response but you spoiled it with your last words. "it will fall'? Why ? and How? India, China, most of Africa, all of thes places are the equal and soon the better of Europe in trade and industry. Watch the Israelis pivot to China as they have already pivoted to India.