One out of Four

Of the four countries, the politics of which I regularly follow, Israel, Great Britain, Germany and the USA, only Germany has a head of the executive branch, who is believable and trustworthy. Trump is not only a notorious liar, he is also incapable of handling difficult issues. So there is no hope there. Unlike Trump, party-boy Boris Johnson is intellectually capable of understanding complicated problems, but he lacks the stamina for anything beyond PR. Netanyahu has both intelligence and stamina, but his interests lie elsewhere: his only aim is to stay out of jail. 

I raise my glass to Angela Merkel!

The sad story of Israel

Netanyahu’s Israel is the first country to exploit COVID in order to dismantle democracy. A day before the first hearing of Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, his appointee as minister of justice conveniently issued a decree closing the courts. 

Then, by stealth, behind the parliament’s back, the government instructed the internal security service to use its technological  surveillance appartus to follow anyone suspected of having been in touch with infected persons. 

And now, Netanyahu and the coterie of scoundrels, who he has painstakingly appointed over the last few years, are trying to close parliament.  

I can understand that Netanyahu wants to avoid going to jail. But why do all those Israeli politicians help him? This is after all the country, that likes to constantly tell the world that it is “the only democracy in the middle east”. What despicable imps they all are. Despicable collaborators.

Collaborators are not forgotten. We will not forget, just as we have not forgotten those who collaborated with other so well-known dictators.

Krim

Here’s a poster, I saw in a restaurant in the Ukrainian city Lviv:

The text reads:

From the very beginning of the war in Donbas, Merkel insists on peaceful conflict resolution and refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine. It’s the first time in history when we face bloodshed because of EU and European values. And it’s blood of the Ukrainians. Germany tries to do the impossible – to fight and to continue business with Russia at the same time. Danke Frau Ribbentrop.   

At the church next door, they had one board after another with photos of servicemen, who had given their lives for the defence of the Ukraine.

Frau Merkel – your secret police needs sorting

A few days ago, Hans-Georg Maaßen, who until November of last year headed Germany’s domestic security service, spoke at a political meeting and said “I did not join the CDU (Adenauer, Kohl and Merkel’s party) thirty years ago, so that we should now have 1.8 million Arabs coming to Germany”.

The Nazis had the Gestapo, which stood for Geheime Staatspolizei. When the Federal Republic of Germany was established, it also – as all political systems do – was in need of a secret police. Calling it secret police was no longer a good idea, so they called it ‘Office for the Protection of the Constitution’, or Verfassungsschutz  in German. As Germany is a bottom-up federal state, it not only has a federal domestic security agency, but also one for each of its 16 constituent states. All seventeen of them run covert operations, and they all operate informers.

You are, of course, unlikely to find liberals and human-rights activists staffing a domestic security service. Who does? In the first few years after the War, both the Verfassungsschutz and the BND, the external intelligence service (equivalent to the CIA or Britain’s MI6), greedily and shamelessly recruited the now-out-of-work but oh-so-experienced Nazis. (As did the security apparatuses of quite a few other countries). But even with the supply of old Nazis drying up, it is logical to assume that many of those who enjoy working in a nondemocratic environment, clandestinely snooping on others, gathering material for blackmail, blackmailing, being allowed to do what normally is illegal, forbidden and punishable, will tend to also support tough policing and law-and-order, i.e., right-wing and illiberal ideologies.

And still, it came as a shock, when it turned out, that members of the Verfassungsschutz were deeply involved in covering up murders of immigrants, bank robberies and other crimes carried out by a neo-Nazi gang in the years 2000-2006. The internal report into the affair will remain under lock and key for an unprecedented 120 years. It must be quite explosive, if they are that frightened to own up to it.

Last year, Hans-Gerog Maaßen, who had been in office at the Verfassungsschutz’s Director for six  years, was forced to leave his job. It came out that he secretly met the extremist right-wing AfD party, before the elections and advised them how to stay under the security service’s radar. Maaßen wanted to help this foreigner-hating, anti-Muslim, nationalistic, as close to Nazi as legally possible, AfD party. His boss, Bavarian CSU party leader and Minister of the Interior Seehofer, tried hard to support him, but at the end there was no alternative and the man had to go.

The attempt – in theory, at least – to create a clean, and transparent secret police in post-Nazi Germany, seems to have failed. A domestic security service that defends the state from its internal enemies is necessary for democracy. When it becomes too powerful it can be dangerous for democracy. Some of us still remember FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover, who blackmailed his way across the US political system, including some presidents, to stay in power. He died in office, at the age of 77, having been FBI director for 37 years. It is not as bad in Germany, but Maaßen should not have been allowed to happen. Mrs Merkel probably no longer has the political clout to do what must be done. However, before it is too late, she should restructure this German absurdity of 17 secret police forces.   

A Question to Mrs Merkel

FRAU MERKEL: If you take a wine bottle from the supermarket shelf and notice that it was produced in a Jewish settlement in the Occupied Territories, would you buy it or put it back on the shelf?

My guess would be that Merkel would put the wine back and my second guess is that she will try not to have to say so loudly. If that is the case, then Mrs. Merkel and all other politicians who act similarly, are moral cowards. 

Can a journalist be found to ask that question?

German Secret Service - Maaßen

A few days ago, a committee of Germany’s parliament discussed recent public remarks made by Hans-Georg Maaßen, the head of the country’s internal secret service, the Bureau for the Defence of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), and decided that he was able to provide justification for his view.

The committee met after Maaßen was criticised in the media for having downplayed the seriousness of a right-wing mob going wild in the streets of Chemnitz. This is not the first indication, that the head of Germany’s secret service may be harbouring right-wing sympathies. It had been reported some time ago, that Maaßen had briefed the heads of the extremist right-wing AfD party – on at least a couple of occasions –, as to how to avoid being tracked by his service.

Had Angela Merkel still been as powerful as she used to be, Maaßen would have been out. What he said contradicts her line and agenda. Moreover, the head of the secret service should be reporting to the government and not be making statements to the press. And definitely not without first clearing such statements with the prime minister. But Merkel has been weakened, not least by the constant berating and scolding she is subject to from the leaders of her party’s sister-party in Bavaria, the CSU. Was Maaßen’s deed done in collusion with his direct boss, the Minister of Interior and senior CSU member?

The three questions that should have been asked are:

1.   Has Maaßen divulged secret information to the AfD?

2.   Was it appropriate for Maaßen to come out publicly and belittle the right-wing mob actions in Chemnitz?

3.   Can Maaßen be relied upon to defend the country from the dangers of the rising right-wing?

The fact that such questions must be asked, suggest that Maaßen is not fit for office.

Gay Marriage and German Politics

They all want a piece of the action: Three months before the elections, German chancellor Merkel has indicated that after the September elections, she would allow a free vote (that is, CDU/CSU members of Parliament would not be bound by party discipline) on the issue of gay marriage. Not to be outdone her SPD opponent, Martin Schultz, is forcing a vote this week. If you look at their faces, you will understand: she is calm and calculating, whereas the rather unattractive Mr. Schultz is after a quickie.

Homosexual marriage excites mainly heterosexuals. The number of people who will take advantage of the new law is not expected to be very high. Doubtlessly, there is no reason why the state should interfere in the bonding arrangements its citizens wish to get into. Only, the matter of personal freedom is serious and deserves a serious and honourable discussion in parliament and should not be treated as a quickie to produce immediate satisfaction.

On the other hand, sometimes quickies result in nice babies.

Merkel, Mrs Kohl and same-sex marriage

Why has Merkel decided to “allow” gay marriage? All the other political parties have been calling for it for quite some time and more importantly, opinion polls – which Mrs. Merkel, regularly is guided by –   show that Germany’s population is supportive of equal marriage rights.

The suggestion, that ex-Chancellor Kohl and his second wife have made it clear to Merkel that same-sex marriage cannot be worse than some heterosexual bonds, is being doggedly denied.

Worried about the children

I recently asked German friends of mine, what their children, all three in their mid-twenties, are saying about the coming elections (due in September). They are a fairly well-off family, or at least very comfortable and the parents are supporters of Mrs. Merkel’s party, the CDU. Their children – much to the parents’ dismay – will definitely not be supporting Mrs. Merkel: They have no sympathy whatsoever for the refugees, who should solve their problems in their own countries.

This is bad news. Not only Germany, but the whole of Europe and indeed the entire liberal world needs Merkel, who seems to be the sole sane moral voice in power these days.  

Talk to your children: they already know about birth control and about the dangers of porn in the internet – Now talk to them about the dangers lurking in nationalism, fascism and in demagoguery that seems to be taking us all over.

People you meet at parties

At a drinks party in Germany, I met 70-year-old TS, who, still excited by Trump’s ambition and fighting spirit, explained that Hillary Clinton was a liar and a corrupt establishment figure and that she fully supported Trump. Nothing in Trump’s behaviour, business record, campaign style and content or lack of any experience in government would change TS’s mind. Not even the fact that Trump was just as much establishment as Clinton.

TS added how important it was to stand up against the politics of “our communist”. The communist that she was referring to was Germany’s Chancellor Merkel, and Communist to TS seemed to be the ultimate term of abuse. My suggestion that Mrs. Merkel was the one thing that Germany could truly be proud of, did not get me anywhere. Not only did Merkel help Greece but she also allowed two million unregistered foreigners enter Germany, TS explained. If they were unregistered, how did she know how many of them had entered was not something TS cared to get into.

Years ago, an old German told me – in defence of his decision to vote for Hitler –  that what had really frightened him in those days, was not the Nazis but the communists. Just thinking.

May vs. Merkel

Theresa May, the woman now running the UK, gave the role of Britain’s Foreign Secretary to Boris Johnson, one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign, a man with a track record of lying and one of the most irresponsible, rude and loudmouthed men in British politics.

So here is what happens, when Boris Johnson refreshingly said something true: He spoke about the situation in the Middle East and spoke of the countries abusing their own religion to further their political objectives: “the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and puppeteering and playing proxy wars.” Prime Minister Theresa May immediately rebutted him with: “the foreign secretary's views are not the government's position on, for example, Saudi Arabia and its role in the region." Of course not, we want to do business with them and who cares about the rest.

What a difference between no-values Theresa May and Germany’s values-led Angela Merkel.  

Merkel I

In a world full of short-term thinking and acting opportunistic and jingoistic politicians, Angela Merkel comes over like a breath of fresh air. Whether one agrees with her or not, whether she goes about things the right way or not, one cannot take it away from her: Merkel has moral values, which lead her thinking and form her policies, and which she is not shy of stating.

Such politicians are sadly a rarity and Germany can be proud to have Merkel as its prime minister.

Merkel II

She can’t be flawless and indeed, her Israel policy is flawed. It is the result of her profound awareness of German guilt for Jewish death that translates into German responsibility for Jewish life, be it in Germany or in Israel.

During Netanyahu’s recent visit to Berlin, Merkel astonishingly said that “now is not the time for a significant step forward.” When will the right time come?

Ms. Merkel is wasting the leverage, which the supply of u-boats to Israel could have given Germany. This is where guilt produces bad policy. Indeed, what Israel needs, what Israel’s security needs even more than u-boats, is pressure to get out of the occupied territories. Without external pressure it will not be able to get out of the pernicious spiral into which occupation has propelled it.

German Parliament circumcises Cologne Judge

Five months ago, a judge in Cologne ruled that circumcision was to be considered bodily harm and that religious freedom did not have priority over the welfare of a child. All hell broke loose in the Jewish community of Germany and Frau Merkel promised the Jewish community to sort it. She has. Now, the Bundestag, the German parliament, has overruled the judge.

Merkel did not need much convincing. She did not want Germany to be the one country that prevents Jews from practicing their religious practices and rituals. This is understandable. 

And yet, it is a bit of a shame, not because of the boys but because it would have been interesting to see how the supreme constitutional court of Germany would have dealt with this important question of how far you can go in the name of religious freedom.

Everyone can breathe freely again and the little boys get cut, or as some have it, mutilated. Take it from me: the trauma – if there is trauma - does not last long. 

Germany and Israel on Palestine

Until this morning, Germany together with the USA, Canada, Guatemala and let’s not forget Micronesia were the only countries that were about to vote against the Palestinian bid to become a non-member-observer-state at the UN. Now it seems that Germany has decided to abstain.

Senior Israeli government spokesmen – in various tones of brutality - have warned that if Abbas would go to the UN it would be the end of the Palestinian Authority. But then, the Israeli government has been doing its utmost to dismantle the Palestinian Authority anyway. The way the vote is going, Israel is being shown what the world thinks of its conduct and its policies. It is sadly fast becoming a pariah state. 

It must have been a hard decision for Mrs. Merkel. Supporting Israeli governments has been one of the means by which German governments have attempted to make reparation by supporting the Jewish people after the Holocaust. Yet, had Germany voted against the Palestinian bid, it would have done so against German public sentiment. Israeli policy vis-à-vis the Palestinians, its arrogant obstinacy and its deteriorating moral values have become too much even for Germany. Germans are becoming more and more anti-Israel.

Not only Germany, Israel too - instead of opposing - should vote for the Palestinian bid. 

Circumcision II

The Cologne court’s ruling that circumcision is tantamount to committing bodily injury continues to cause unrest. German politicians needed this ruling like a hole in the head. If they could, they would probably have the Cologne judge circumcised without anaesthetics. 

Everybody, rabbis, politicians and blog writers like me, are all chewing on the forbidden foreskin. Mrs. Merkel has warned that Germany might become a laughing stock of the world for banning circumcision. Her ministers are searching for ways to pass legislation that will allow such bodily harm (i.e. circumcision) for reasons of “religious freedom”.

Israel’s President Peres has also given it a tug: In a letter to his German counterpart Gauck, Peres explained that circumcision was a “crucial” Jewish custom, “a central aspect of our nation’s Jewish identity.” Now, 79-year-old Charlotte Knobloch, a former chairperson of the Central Council of German Jews, has come out with a bitter howl published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. For Knobloch, who survived Nazi Germany and life in post-War yet Nazi-ridden Germany, this ruling is more than she can swallow.

This general panic is a shame, as the issue deserves unhurried consideration. Everyone is talking about religious freedom – whatever that is - instead of going for a serious investigation into the fascinating questions of a baby boy’s rights and the extent to which circumcision is indeed harmful and/or traumatic.

Circumcision, Germany, Israel, Merkel, Peres

Mrs Merkel – More Pressure, Please!

Earlier this week, at the Berlin book launch of my new book, “Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?” I was asked why Israel was stubbornly disregarding the advice of Mrs. Merkel. Indeed, Germany regularly reprimands Israel for building in the Occupied Territories and Israel regularly disregards these lectures.

Two days ago, it was reported that the German Chancellor, Mrs. Merkel, had yet again called Mr Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister and “ expressed anger” over the approval of 1,100 housing units in the Gilo neighbourhood, an area of Jerusalem that Israel annexed in 1967.

According to the Chancellor's office, Merkel told Netanyahu that the new housing permits "raise doubts over the Israeli government's readiness to begin serious negotiation with the Palestinians.”

I could have done my bit to help the German economy and saved the German taxpayer the price of that phone call. There is nothing to doubt. Mr. Netanyahu and his government represent that part of Israel’s population that wants to hold on to territory and are willing to pay the price of no peace.

Israel is likely to continue with this strategy, as it seems to be bearing fruit. Poisoned fruit, some may say.

Mrs Merkel, more pressure, please!