km. A wise person once said “not to watch a person’s mouth but his fists”. What is important is not what someone says, but what he does. The worldwide protests against the Israeli conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip (and also in the West Bank) and the most serious war crimes committed before the entire world public have also led to some criticism from the political leaders of Israel’s closest Western allies – the USA and Germany. And a few plasters for the maltreated Palestinian people. Some of those in positions of responsibility in the West are apparently also realising how they are increasingly isolating themselves in view of their Nibelung loyalty to Israel. What is still lacking, however, are tangible steps to end the murder, destruction and displacement. This is still being blocked.
Nevertheless, take them at their word! Oblige them to back up their words with action! This also applies to the media makers. And also for public service broadcasting in Germany. On 9 March, the German radio station Deutschlandfunk broadcast a commentary1 by the former editor-in-chief, current chief correspondent and head of the capital city office in Berlin and the Brussels office. His name is Stephan Detjen, and he actually said the following under the heading “Germany must correct its Israel policy”:
“The German government must create rhetorical and political room for manoeuvre [for a different Israel policy], distance itself from Netanyahu’s government and draw effective consequences. […] This is not only necessary in view of the current humanitarian drama in the Gaza Strip. In the long term, the German government will also have to move away from a narrow understanding of the German raison d’être if it wants to do justice to Germany’s historical responsibility and fulfil its promise of a value-driven foreign policy.” After 7 October 2023, German politicians had “attempted to commit politics and society to solidarity with a government in Jerusalem characterised by radical and racist forces”. And: “A politically overstretched concept of anti-Semitism is also being instrumentalised by government representatives in order to criminalise pointed but factually justified criticism of Israeli policy.” All of this has to change. “The next touchstone for Germany’s Middle East policy will be the decision on the continued funding of the UN aid organisation for the Palestinians, UNRWA, which the Israeli government is calling for to be dismantled. If the German government bows to the pressure, it is accepting an expansion of the humanitarian catastrophe.”
Aha, listen to this! •
1 https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/deutschland-nahostpolitik-korrektur-gazastreifen-israel-100.html of 9 March 2024
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