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German Politicians Criticized for Highlighting Antisemitism Among Muslims on Holocaust Memorial Day by Ben Cohen
A 2018 demonstration against antisemitism in Berlin. Photo: Reuters / Fabrizio Bensch.
Two German politicians were at the center of a bitter domestic row on Tuesday after they drew attention to the dangers posed by antisemitism within the country’s Muslim community.
Parliamentarian Friedrich Merz — who represents the governing CDU Party in the Bundestag — declared in a tweet on Monday afternoon to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day that antisemitism in Germany had risen in tandem with the arrival of over 600,000 refugees fleeing from the civil war in Syria.
Merz commented that “75 years after [the] liberation of Auschwitz, we again experience antisemitism — mostly from the right, but also due to immigration from 2015/16.”
He pointed out: “Many bring hatred of Jews with them, which is preached in their home countries. There must be no tolerance for that either.”
Merz’s comments followed earlier remarks by his CDU colleague, Philipp Amthor, along similar lines. During a TV interview to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Amthor said that it was “also clear, and this must not be forgotten, that antisemitism is of course particularly strongly represented in Muslim cultural circles.”
Both politicians faced strong criticism from across Germany’s political spectrum.
Matthias Hauer — like Merz and Amthor a CDU parliamentarian — nevertheless rejected their comments.
“Even if the statements are correct, today — #Auschwitz 75 — is not a day to point fingers at others,” Hauer said.
Sawsan Chebli — a parliamentarian from the center-left SPD Party — commented that “as an immigrant to Germany, Nazi history is also mine today.”
Addressing Merz, Chebli continued that “the growing hatred of Jews worries me as well. Perhaps even more than you, Mr. Merz. You should be ashamed to use the day of liberation of Auschwitz as an platform to incite against migrants.”
The latest row comes amid an ongoing debate in Germany over the nature and degree of Muslim antisemitism at a time when there has been a precipitous increase in anti-Jewish outrages.
During 2018, a total of 1,799 antisemitic incidents were recorded by the authorities. But German law enforcement agencies have been recently criticized for allegedly downplaying the involvement of Muslim extremists in acts of antisemitism, while emphasizing the role of the far right.
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(photo credit: JABOTINSKY ARCHIVES)
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Belgian carnival to double down on antisemitic displays
Giant figures are seen during the 87th carnival parade of Aalst February 15, 2015
The annual carnival in Aalst, Belgium, is expected to take place on Sunday with even more antisemitic elements than in previous years.
Aalst’s organizers have sold hundreds of “rabbi kits” for revelers to dress as hassidic Jews in the carnival’s parade. The kit includes oversized noses, sidelocks (peyot) and black hats. The organizers plan to bring back floats similar to the one displayed in 2019 featuring oversized dolls of Jews, with rats on their shoulders, holding banknotes.
Pope Appears to Give Thumbs Down to Trump’s Mideast Peace Plan
Pope Francis waves as he arrives at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas in the southern Italian coastal city of Bari, Italy February 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Remo Casilli.
Pope Francis on Sunday warned against “inequitable solutions” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying they would only be a prelude to new crises, in an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace proposal.
Francis made his comments in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where he traveled to conclude a meeting of bishops from all countries in the Mediterranean basin.
Israel, Palestinian Authority Agree to End Trade Dispute: Officials
Palestinians walk past a shop selling fruits in Ramallah, Feb. 20, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Mohamad Torokman.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have reached an agreement to end a five-month long trade dispute, officials said on Thursday.
The dispute, which opened a new front in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, began in September when the PA announced a boycott of Israel calves. The PA exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under interim peace deals.
Disturbing Images Emerge of Astounding Antisemitism at Belgian Carnival
Antisemitic caricatures on display at the annual carnival in Aalst, Belgium. Photo: Raphael Ahren via Twitter.
Disturbing images emerged on Sunday of the annual carnival at Aalst, Belgium, showing an astounding number of antisemitic themes, costumes, displays and statements.
Israeli journalist Raphael Ahren documented people dressed as caricatures of Orthodox Jews, a fake “wailing wall” attacking critics of the parade, blatantly antisemitic characters and puppets wearing traditional Jewish clothes and sporting huge noses.
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The stench of anti-Semitism always hovers over Switzerland’s Lake Geneva when the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is meeting there. The foul emanations reached a new nadir last week with UNHRC’s publication of a “database” of companies doing business in the disputed territories in Israel.
Following the publication of the list, Bruno Stagno Ugarte, deputy director for advocacy of NGO Human Rights Watch, stated, “The long-awaited release of the U.N. settlement business database should put all companies on notice: To do business with illegal settlements [sic] is to aid in the commission of war crimes.”
David Suissa : Bad Globalism: China Controls our Meds
One of the many things that annoys me about politicians is how sure they are of themselves. Everything is black and white. Every idea is good or bad. Take globalism, for example. You either love it or hate it. It works or it doesn’t.
Another thing that annoys me is how so much of a politician’s life revolves around power: Do everything you can to get it, and everything you can to keep it.
Why am I ranting? Because, while our politicians have been consumed with power and the media with the fights over power, a threat to our nation has been virtually ignored.
Alex Traiman : Challengers Gantz and Lapid Attack Netanyahu-Trump Relationship
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The Times of Israel reported that at a campaign stop in front of English-speaking Israelis, Gantz accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “of neglecting bipartisan ties in favor of exclusive support from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party,” under the headline “Gantz pledges to mend ties with U.S. Democrats if elected.”
CLIFFORD D. MAY : The Return of the Monroe Doctrine
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Nancy Pelosi had been looking dyspeptic, shuffling the papers she would later rip to shreds, when President Donald Trump reminded his audience that “the United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.”
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Melanie Phillips : Sanitizing Soros through Guilt by Association
The law professor Alan Dershowitz has thrown a legal hand-grenade into America’s political civil war by claiming to have evidence that former President Barack Obama “personally asked” the FBI to investigate someone “on behalf” of Obama’s “close ally,” billionaire financier George Soros.
He made his cryptic remark in an interview defending U.S. President Donald Trump against claims he interfered in the prosecution of his former adviser, Roger Stone.