The German government keeps mentioning “Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense guaranteed to it under international law” in response to the Hamas attack at dawn on October 7, which resulted in the death of about 1,400 Israelis and the capture of more than two hundred Israelis. Germany – like most Western countries – chose from the first moment to unconditionally side with Israel and support it absolutely “in its war on terrorism,” regardless of the heavy humanitarian bill that would be paid by the civilians who endured both in Gaza. As a result of a severe and unprecedented siege for more than a decade.
Even if Germany – whose advisors have begun to emphasize at all times that “Israel’s security is a supreme interest of the state” – has slightly softened the tone of its statements in recent days regarding its absolute and unconditional support for Israel, as stated in the speech of its Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock. , in the Security Council, where it finally indicated that Israel’s self-defense must be carried out “in accordance with humanitarian law, and with the greatest possible consideration for the civilian population,” but this slight change in the tone in Germany’s position remains mere talk and does not go beyond its throat, as long as it It does not care about the suffering of the Palestinians, and it does not denounce Israel’s violation of the prohibitions of international laws in a clear manner that does not accept interpretation, as long as it does not apply the same standards to everyone, as it has always done in other conflicts, when it sided with humanitarian values.
The calls aimed at demonizing alignment with the Palestinian side reached a peak in the attempt of the Vice-President of the Christian Democratic Union Party, Karin Breen, to criminalize the chant of “Free Palestine,” which often echoes in the throats of Palestine supporters in demonstrations. She stated in a television interview that the chant of “Free Palestine “It is not an innocent chant, but a war cry for a terrorist gang.”
Also, Baerbock’s call to respect humanitarian law completely loses its credibility if we take into account the words of the German Chancellor, Olaf Schulz, in a statement to the press, in which he affirmed that he has no doubt at all that the Israeli army will inevitably adhere to the principles of international law under the pretext that “Israel is a democratic state with “Managed by humanitarian principles.” On what basis is this absolute certainty of the German Chancellor based? And this Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, himself refutes this claim when he ignores the principles of international law and orders, in full view of the world, cutting off water, food, fuel, and electricity from Gaza, and dealing with its residents. As “human animals”?!
Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court considers “deliberately starving civilians – as a method of war by depriving them of materials indispensable for their survival, including deliberately obstructing relief supplies as stipulated in the Geneva Conventions” – a war crime. In addition, dehumanizing the Palestinians – or other people, regardless of their guilt – is abhorrent racism and a blatant violation of human rights, and no two people disagree on that.
Germany’s attempt to protect the Israeli army – by claiming that it cares about any principles or international conventions in a war that does not last or cease, has so far claimed more than nine thousand martyrs, including more than three thousand children, and destroyed 50% of housing units as a result of unprecedented bombing. It distinguishes between a military and a civilian target – it is nothing but misinformation and a camouflage of events. Because shedding the blood of thousands of innocent people cannot be self-defense, but rather a massive massacre that cannot be kept silent about.
Most international organizations – including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch – and others refute the German narrative and strongly condemn Israel. Some of these organizations see the Israeli army’s continued indiscriminate bombing of residential neighborhoods, targeting hospitals, schools, and places of worship, the destruction of infrastructure, forced displacement, and the imposed siege as compelling evidence that Israel has committed war crimes. This is not to mention the occupation, which is the cause of all the humanitarian disasters that have occurred to the Palestinians for the past seventy years.
It is striking that the German government’s bias was accompanied by an almost unprecedented internal political consensus, in which most parties completely adopted the official position, with the exception of the Left Party, which in this regard constituted the exception that confirms the rule. This political consensus was evident in the suppression of all voices supporting Palestine, sometimes through an attempt to ban demonstrations denouncing the war in general, and confiscating their organizers’ constitutional right to peaceful assembly and expression of opinion. And at other times, by placing every critic of Israel’s policy under the threat of anti-Semitism, without distinction or discrimination.
The calls aimed at demonizing alignment with the Palestinian side reached a peak in the attempt of the Vice-President of the Christian Democratic Union Party, Karin Breen, to criminalize the chant of “Free Palestine,” which often echoes in the throats of Palestine supporters in demonstrations. She stated in a television interview that the chant of “Palestine “Free is not an innocent chant, but a war cry for a terrorist gang.”
Among the statements and calls, many of which smack of racism and populism, we find unique statements whose authors excelled at practicing the policy of mixing evil with evil, in a surreal and nauseating manner, such as the statement of the Chair of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag (German Parliament), Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, from The Free Democratic Party, which saw that “there is a close relationship between Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel,” drawing attention to the fact that the Hamas attack on October 7th coincides with the birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is impossible – according to its claim. -It must be a pure coincidence.
The obsession with suppressing the voices of anyone who tries to tweet outside the official position has led to exaggerated accusations of anti-Semitism, and fearful apprehension of anything that might suggest direct or indirect criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza. One of the victims of this hysterical apprehension was the writer Adeniya Shibli, whose honoring of the “LiBeraturpreis” award was postponed indefinitely simply because she is of Palestinian origin.
Today, attempting to address the events of the Gaza War in their historical context has become unacceptable. In this regard, prominent figures were not spared criticism, such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, when he stated that “Hamas attacks did not occur in a vacuum,” nor did the Slovenian philosopher, Slavoj Žižek.
Despite Žižek’s clear condemnation of “Hamas’ attack on Israelis unconditionally” in his opening speech at the Frankfurt Book Fair, he was surprised by the attempt to impose a “ban on analysis”, as he noted that simply expressing a desire to analyze the complex background of the conflict, One is exposed to the charge of “supporting Hamas terrorism.” This was also confirmed by Udo Steinbach, an expert in Middle East affairs, when he drew attention to the lack of a culture of difference when it comes to Palestine, and warned that “the accusation of anti-Semitism has become a fatal excuse to bury any discussion in the bud.”
Germany’s unconditional alignment with Israel – without taking into account the rights of the Palestinians, and ignoring its unmistakable violations – will not lead to achieving the desired goal. Even if Israel were able to uproot Hamas from the ground forever, as its Foreign Minister said, this would not put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict, as long as Israel continues to violate the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, siege Gaza, build settlements, and destroy all hope of building a state. Independent Palestinian. Past experiences have shown that the great injustice that the West tolerated under the pretext of fighting terrorism to eliminate Al-Qaeda only resulted in the emergence of new, more fanatical, extremist, and terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS). In addition, what is happening now will undermine rapprochement projects with Arab countries, and will deepen and widen the gap between Israel and its neighbors, which will lead to the destabilization of fragile stability in a region that has become a powder keg about to explode.
It was appropriate for Germany – especially due to its historical responsibility towards the Jews – to strive to work to bring about a just and comprehensive peace that guarantees decent living for both peoples: Palestinian and Israeli alike, under two independent, fully sovereign states. This will not come about by blindly and unconditionally siding with one party at the expense of another, but rather through serious work to end the occupation, stop settlement, and release prisoners, and through absolute bias towards international laws and human rights principles.
There is no way for the German government – if it is serious about stopping the war – except to call names by their names, stand at the same distance from all parties, and apply the same standards to everyone, as demanded in 2012 by the great German writer Gunter Grass, Nobel Prize winner. For etiquette, when he denounced in his famous poem “Saying What Must Be Said” this “Western hypocrisy that he is fed up with,” and the policy of double standards in dealing with Iran, and Israel regarding the possession of nuclear weapons:
Only in this way will everyone be helped: Israelis and Palestinians, and even more so, all those who live in this obsessive space side by side as enemies, and ultimately us too.
