No Longer Disgusted

One of my friends posted on Facebook “My first inauguration speech to watch. Seldom felt so bored. Hollow phrases never ending... “

 

My response was: “It is wonderful to be bored again and no longer disgusted. “

Merkel Failing ?

In the first few months of the pandemic, I could not but praise Mrs. Merkel’s handling of this emergency. I compared Merkel with the leaders of three other countries relevant to my life Israel, Britain and the UK. Merkel seemed competent, matter-of-fact, and honest.

 

Mid December it started to become clear that the minister in charge of Germany’s health system is incompetent. On 23 December, I suggested he be fired. Since then, the shocking vaccination failure is becoming more evident every day. 

 

Mrs. Merkel and her health minister, Jens Spahn have failed to ensure a good supply of vaccine and to prepare the logistics for vaccinating the population. Much has been made, over the years, of the fact that Mrs. Merkel was educated as a scientist and that as a result her approach to problems is scientific. Well, here she failed to grasp the critical importance of ensuring that her population gets vaccinated as soon as possible.

 

This week, Israel has started vaccinating the 35-year-olds, the UK will have vaccinated the over 70-year-olds by mid-February. Even in the USA, friends of mine are now being vaccinated. Here, in Germany, it is hoped that by the end of March, 80 percent of the over 80-year-olds will have been vaccinated.

 

Sadly, as far as vaccinations go – Germany is a failed state.

Mrs. Merkel: Please ACT.

Israel – An Apartheid State ?

A few days ago, the Israeli NGO B'tzelem published a report on apartheid in areas under Israeli control. In clear and straightforward language, the well-founded document states: "The entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organised under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group - Jews - over another - Palestinians. [...] A regime that uses laws, practices and organised violence to cement the supremacy of one group over another is an apartheid regime. Further, B'tzelem explains, "Israeli apartheid [...] was not born in one day or of a single speech. It is a process that has gradually grown more institutionalised and explicit."

 

It could not be clearer.

 

Attempts to portray the reality in Israel/Palestine as apartheid have been around for some time. Often – under Israeli and Jewish lobby pressure – politicians rowed back after "careless" statements. For example, in 2014, US Secretary of State John Kerry, after commenting that Israel risks becoming an "apartheid state" if US-sponsored efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement fail, had to quickly declare "I do not believe, nor have I ever stated publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or intends to become one." In 2017, a document was removed from the UN's website that stated, "Israel has established an apartheid regime that dominates the Palestinian people as a whole."

 

These Israeli and Jewish lobby attempts, while successful, are frankly ridiculous, considering that as early as 1976, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had already warned against sliding into an apartheid situation and that in 2010, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said "as long as in this territory west of the Jordan river there is only one political entity called Israel it is going to be either non-Jewish or non-democratic. [...] If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state."

 

Israelis as well as Diaspora Jews, who remember the anti-apartheid movement of the 1970s-80s find the idea of Israel being called an apartheid state difficult. International anti-apartheid efforts, at the time, led to the boycott and pariah status of South Africa and we do not want to end up as pariahs. And yet, even vehement opponents of the occupation and settlements in Israel, would much rather see Israeli society itself come to what they see as the "right" decision, than to be shamed by others. The end of Israeli occupation of the West Bank should not be brought on by foreigners. But the reality is that this is not happening - Israelis are not bringing about change.

 

Admitting to yourself that you are responsible for an apartheid system is not pleasant. B'tzelem even closes the loophole that made it easy for many to argue that apartheid exists in the Occupied Territories, but that Israel itself is a democratic country. Quite clearly, the report shows - what we have known all along - that the non-Jewish population of Israel, 17% of its citizenry, Palestinians living on land defined as Israeli territory in 1948, are Israeli citizens but "do not enjoy the same rights as Jewish citizens, either in law or in practice."

 

It is in front of this mirror that B'tzelem places us that every Israeli now stands. Most prefer to look the other way. Even non-Israelis who identify with Israel cannot escape this question. But when talking of responsibility, we need to confront the fact that the international community too bears a responsibility for this apartheid reality. Only because the world tolerated it, Israel was able to build its apartheid system for years with impunity.      

 

Let not accusations of “antisemitism” and fears of such accusations prevent an honest discussion of the reality in the areas between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean.

We all know 9/11, but what is 1/6? The American mm-dd notation, in which the month precedes the day, and the fact that 911 is the telephone number for emergency calls in the United States, have turned “nine-eleven” into the worldwide term for the Al-Qaida attack that took place on the 11^th of September (twenty years ago).  

 

But what’s 1/6? It does not sound as catching as 9/11. And yet, what we have witnessed on the 6^th of January, is the product of something more virulent, more contagious and probably much more dangerous. What we have in the United States is not one crazy man, who we have finally gotten rid of. We have a whole supportive, enabling, calculating Republican upper echelon (calling them elite somehow goes against the grain) that nurtured the ground, which allowed a Trump to become president. He was no cat-in-the-bag in 2016. But after four years, having witnessed the man and his actions as president, they then wanted him to win a second term.  And it gets even worse: Many of the most senior Republican politicians of the United States actively attempted to overturn the election results, in order to keep their man in the White House.

 

These senior Republicans, the grey eminences behind them and the right-wing American Oligarchs funding them, are more dangerous than Bin-Laden ever was. We know what the USA has done, when it considered Ghaddafi, Saddam Hussain or Bin Laden a danger. The question that begs to be asked: what will it do with the culprits behind 1/6?   

 

Nothing, is probably the answer.

It is a relief that what seems to have been a putsch attempt has failed. The problem, however, has not gone away. Mantras about democracy having proven itself are just empty words. Americans might not like to hear this, but the United States has never been a true democracy. At first only white male property owners had a vote. In 1920 women got the vote. Even when Congress passed the 15^th amendment in 1870, to prohibit the denial of a vote on the basis of race or colour, the states found ways to prevent blacks from exercising their right. And despite further legislation in 1965 to ensure that blacks are able to vote, white supremacist hurdles continue to make it difficult for some blacks to exercise their rights.

 

The outrageous attempt of 1/6 should concentrate the minds of   

the next generation of Democrats and democrats in order to build a fairer and more democratic country.  And there is a lot of work to be done. To begin with, it is important to avoid any whitewashing and Congress should avoid a business-as-usual attitude. White supremacists are an enemy and have to be fought relentlessly, wherever they are. In one of his celebrated speeches, Churchill famously said: “We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.“

European Vaccination – German perspective

The first blog of 2020 was all about a visit to the Leonardo exhibition in Paris. This now seems like ages ago and there’s no Paris trip this January. Lockdown instead. This year’s first blog is deep in Covid county and an attempt to understand what is going wrong in Germany.

 

In a previous blog (23/12) I criticised the German government for the dilettante manner in which it manages Corona vaccination for the population of Europe’s richest country. Indeed, contrary to pre-conceived ideas, Germany is bad at organisation. Some of my friends did not like what I wrote. “I am glad to wait my turn” and “one does not need to find faults everywhere” are some of the reactions I got.  That, I believe, is the wrong attitude. Much is wonderful and great and what is not needs pointing at and criticising.

German nurses

According to some reports, more than 40 per cent of German nurses and care workers do not plan to take the Covid vaccination. 40% of German nurses and carers working with the sick and the at-risk population are anti-vaxxers or at least apprehensive about the vaccine? People working in hospitals and in care homes who do not believe in medical science? As it stands, they actually, instead of saving lives, endanger them.

 

Something is going terribly wrong in nurse training in Germany. Those in charge should take immediate action and those who reject medical science should seek alternative careers.

Merkel’s fault I?

Germany, one of the richest countries in the world has failed to establish an efficient Covid vaccination operation. They had quite a few months to prepare and what we have is chaos. German news channels report about Israel’s efficient vaccination with envy. Germany’s federal health minister, Jens Spahn, should go. But does the buck stop with him? What about Mrs. Merkel’s responsibility?

 

Let me start by stating that I am a fan of Mrs. Merkel and have been one for many years. Indeed, right from the start, I congratulated Angela Merkel for the way she approached the Corona crisis. Merkel continues to be a one of the few non-populist leaders around. Tragically, – and yes, tragically is the fitting word – it did not take long for macho and ego-driven heads of federal states in Germany to assert their constitutional right and claim their sovereignty. They frustrated Merkel’s attempts to keep infection numbers low. This is a price the country has to pay for its democratic structures.

 

Now that we have reached the vaccination stage, a further problem has come to light: Germany’s astonishingly backward public health system. They have many wonderful hospitals, but the public health authorities are appallingly weak. Those in the know are of the opinion that they are – not surprisingly – staffed by the less competent of the medical profession. Moreover, there is almost no digitalisation to speak of. The federal government will have been aware of this weakness. It should have known that their system was incapable of efficiently handling the current emergency. An effective health minister would have established a parallel system to handle the logistics of vaccinating Germany’s population. Jens Spahn should have handled it as a military operation. Money was no object anyway. Moreover, with so many underemployed because of Covid, manpower would also have been available for the project. He didn’t. And Merkel failed to ensure that this important back to normality step was in competent hands.

 

This is, in fact, not the first time for an issue of central importance to be badly handled because of this weakness of Mrs. Merkel. In 2015, she took an emotional and ethical decision to open Germany’s borders to refugees. The decision, which she explained with her “We’ll manage” message to the German people, at first, enjoyed much public support. What Merkel failed to do was to have the hundreds of thousands of incoming migrants systematically registered upon entry. Merkel’s Minister of the Interior or someone else at her side should have ensured that everyone coming in is duly and recognisably documented. This did not happen. This caused fear of “losing control” over the country’s borders, a fear that was instrumentalised by the far-right. Much of the strengthening of the xenophobic, extremist right-wing AfD in Germany is due to this operational management failure of Merkel’s.

 

It is evident is that Merkel’s scientific brilliance and political acumen do not automatically make her a good manager. Unfortunately, there is nobody at her side to balance this shortcoming of hers. The fact that neighbouring Holland and France are even worse in their handling of the vaccination programme is no solace.

Merkel’s fault II?

Angela Merkel decided to subordinate Germany’s acquisition of Corona vaccines to the EU. There was no statutory or legal requirement to do so. After all, EU members buy neither butter nor guns through Brussels, so why should they buy their vaccines via the EU. This was a political decision that was meant to strengthen the notion of cohesion. A joint effort towards a joint success, an EU “we dunnit” effect was hoped for.

 

Will it deliver the hoped-for European moment?  Not at all certain.  Brussels is not very transparent as to how and why vaccine purchase contracts were agreed.

 

According to media reports by the end of January, Israel will have received more of the MADE-in-GERMANY  Biontech-Pfizer vaccine than Germany itself.  

 

How will Germans react if it turns out that the decision to order less of the Biontech-Pfizer vaccine and instead order more of the cheaper Astra-Zeneca, was made under pressure of some (East-European member) countries?

 

Merkel’s decision to subordinate the vaccination programme to Brussels might achieve the very opposite of what she was hoping for: it could actually strengthen the anti-European extremists.