Titel, Thesen, Temperamente

Here's a link to the "Titel, Thesen, Temperamente" (ttt) feature that was broadcast last night. 

A Diaspora Problem

Israeli press reports:

1.   An Israeli Arab was sentenced to two years prison for burning trash.

2.   An Israeli border-policeman was sentenced to 9 months prison for shooting and killing a 17-year-old Palestinian.

Repeating mantras such as “Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East” or “The IDF is the most moral army in the world”, will not change the sad state of affairs in Israel.

The time has come for diaspora Jews to stand up and clarify that they are neither responsible, nor do they wish to be identified with the agenda, policies and actions of Israel.

This is not easy, but if Diaspora Jews do not understand this and continue to almost automatically show their identification with Israel, they will have to bear the resultant disapproval of many non-Jews. This disapproval that so quickly but mistakenly is described as Antisemitism, can very easily become anti-Semitic.

And more...

This evening’s TV programme ttt (titel, thesen, temperamente) will include an interview with me.

The FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) published a very good review of “Muslimischer Antisemitismus” last Tuesday, which you can find here. 

Today’s FAS (Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung) carries a full-page story about my book. 

On Self Promotion

In reaction to my previous blog item, in which I urged you all to buy my book, one anonymous reader, suggested that I was overdoing the sales talk.

I must, of course, apologise, to anyone who felt beleaguered by my open and honest wish that you buy the book. But why would it be wrong for a researcher and writer who has spent three years in researching a subject, which he finds important, and has written a book explaining his findings, to do his utmost so that as many as possible should buy and read the book.

Indeed, I had an offer from a renowned academic publisher, who wanted to publish this book in hard cover, but whose end product, would have been substantially more expensive. I decided to go for the paperback version, to make the book accessible.

True, one aspect of this wish, is the quest for personal satisfaction, but in a book, that deals with an important societal issue, such as mine, the wish for the message to be heard, is at least as powerful.

Go - Buy IT

„Muslimischer Antisemitismus: Eine Gefahr für den gesellschaftlichen Frieden in Deutschland“,  has been getting an enormous amount of media attention. 😀

However, don’t just hear me on radio interviews or read about the book in the papers. I urge you to go buy a copy for yourselves and a few more as presents. They can be found in all German bookshops and ordered at Amazon.

And then, having completed your purchase, please recommend the book to your friends.
Books must bought and read, not just talked about. 😀 

Thank you.

Jazz und Politik

Lucas Hammerstein’s weekly radio magazine on BR, Bavarian Broadcasting station, “Jazz und Politik” is aired every Saturday. It is usually well researched and I like its format.

In this week’s programme, which is all about antisemitism, my book on Muslim Antisemitism is referred to and read from.

Listen to the whole programme. You will find me from minute 20:30 to 25:35.  Here it is.

Two German and one English Interview

Here’s an interview with me in English on Germany’s Deutsche Welle. (from minute 1:03 to 11:24)

One in German on Deutschlandfunk.

And a longer interview (38 minutes) also in German.

Muslimischer Antisemitismus - more media attention

A review of my new book in yesterday’s Badische Zeitung.

An interview with me in today’s Aachener Zeitung.

A five-minute radio interview with me on BR, the Bavarian radio station, two days ago.  

There may be a very short glimpse of me in a TV interview on the ZDF “Berlin Direkt” news magazine on Sunday night. (8 April, 19:10 German Time)

Continues as Bestseller at Amazon

French Strike – Terrorising

French unions have always been trigger happy in their use of the strike tool. The French rail workers union has announced an especially nasty strike technique, in which unions announce that they will be holding short strikes over months on end, giving only very short notice of when their “chosen” days are to take place. In their attempt to put pressure on their government, they take the rest of the population hostage. How exactly does that differ from terrorism?

I was planning to go to Paris for a few days at the end of May. I would have spent money in a hotel, restaurants, taxis, perhaps even shopped. I am not taking the chance and I will spend the planned break and money in another country.

In their egoistic quest to fight reforms, the French are actually harming their own countrymen. Other Frenchmen (and women) will lose; If business is bad perhaps even fired.

The right to strike is important but it becomes a problem when the price of the dispute is paid by a third party.

Michel Friedman on Horst Seehofer

CSU, the Bavarian sister-party of Germany’s CDU, has always been more right-wing than its bigger sister. 39% of Bavarian voters, voted CSU in 2017, down from 49% in 2013, having hovered in the mid 50%, peaking at 60% in the 1960s-70s-80s. The practice of pushing hatred of the other to acquire votes is not new and it almost invariably works. CSU’s  senior politician Horst Seehofer, for whom a powerful Homeland ministry is being established in Angela Merkel’s new coalition government, is good at just this.

Seehofer’s very public and loud statement that Islam “does not belong to Germany”, has won condemnation from many directions, including that of his senior partner, Angela Merkel.

A few days ago, Michel Friedman, a German Jewish lawyer and publicist, opined that in making a judgement whether a religion belongs or does not belong to the country, Seehofer has infringed on the boundaries of his office.

Friedman severely reprimands Seehofer in his well-argued article, which I very much recommend to my English reading friends – here, and to my German reading friends – here.