Those who criticize Israel risk nothing
The massacre by the terrorist organization Hamas is causing anti-Semitism to flourish worldwide. Anyone who shows solidarity with Israel is intimidated.
It is a naive thought that the most terrible massacre in human history documented by action camera, a live genocide attempt, should have led to compassion, solidarity and a storm of protest. This week, forensic experts are reporting on what Hamas terrorists have done to women, and that should actually erase any ambivalence about the Middle East. Actually.
The reports describe what an average imagination would not be able to achieve even in the most bloodthirsty moments. Women whose legs were chopped off, who were shot in the eyes by terrorists. The terrorists raped one woman, passed her on, raped her again and shot her in the back of the head. The breast was cut off and then the perpetrator threw the body part like a ball.
There's no more room for silence, playing down and relativization - actually. But for some reason, the whole planet is wrapped in a tight blanket of obfuscation, preventing a clear stance on Palestinian terrorists.
UN Women just can't
UN Women, naively an organization that is actually called upon to speak out here, has hardly said a word about the massacre for 50 days since 7 October, and all the more about the suffering in the Gaza Strip. Then it condemned Hamas in a post on Instagram - and then immediately deleted it again. Is it really an ambivalent thing to publicly criticize institutional murderers of women and rapists? The organization later justified itself, saying it had a "different focus" at the moment.
The Prime Minister of Ireland writes that an innocent girl was "lost" and now "found", as if Israel had somehow misplaced nine-year-old Emily Hand, kidnapped by terrorists, and now found her in another coat pocket. Why doesn't he say Hamas kidnapped the child? Is he afraid?
If you want to know what is really no longer allowed to be said, walk through Neukölln with an Israel flag or try your hand at a Mohammed caricature. Strangely, I don't see any debate about how much the sheer aggression of pro-Palestinian activists and Islamists contributes to stifling solidarity with Israel.
"It's scary what's happening in Germany right now"
There are plenty of occasions. To name just the most recent: In New York, angry pro-Palestinian demonstrators got into scuffles with police as they tried to reach the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. At Berlin's University of the Arts, masked protesters gathered in mid-November because the university's president had the courage to declare his solidarity with Israel. Left-wing extremists, who are classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as violence-oriented, were also among the participants.
However, a completely different "you're still allowed to say something" narrative is currently growing up. The fantasy seems to be that you are no longer allowed to criticize Israel. "It's scary what's happening in Germany right now," a journalist whispers on X, outraged by a number of headlines. The reports quoted are about various critical reactions to critics of Israel in the cultural sector.
In academia, too, people are singing the "you're still allowed to say it" song: because a professor posted a photo of green Hamas flags without comment on October 7, the university management of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) asked him what it was all about. Whether he, then a fellow at the WZB, supported the Hamas attack. They demanded a public condemnation.
A provocation with Hamas flags
That was too much to ask. The professor posted the correspondence, in particular a three-page litany in which he condemned "all acts of violence", his post was intended as a provocation, a slap in the face to warmongering Israeli politicians and so on, followed by a rhetorical bow to Max Weber and, in any case, his resignation from his duties at the WZB. His post with the green Hamas flags is still available, but the professor has still not provided an explanation for frowning observers. Why?
The narrative that you are no longer allowed to say anything is actually a trick from the right-wing extremists' box, but it also works quite well on the left. As if there hasn't been a galloping competition in Germany since Israel's existence to see who can criticize Israel the most splendidly. If you start a debate on the Middle East in the queue at the bakery, someone will throw the word "settlement policy" into the air within the first minute.
Let me be clear: Of course it's okay to criticize Israel. Let's ignore the fact that the word "criticism of Israel" has no equivalent with other countries. Strangely enough, I have yet to hear any significant criticism of Syria, Denmark, North Korea or Poland. Even criticism of Hamas has never made it into a topic of its own. No matter! The Israelis criticize Israel themselves, so let's join in.
Risky solidarity
The difference: those who criticize Israel risk nothing. If you flirt with Hamas and the destruction of Israel, you risk your job at best. But anyone who shows solidarity with Israel risks being called a racist, right-wing extremist and colonialist by left-wingers, being shouted down by a masked mob or simply beaten up.
Anti-Semitism therefore has a strong, often overlooked ally: the fear of violence. It's easy to accuse someone of forgetting to change their gender. It is not so easy to put Islamists in their place.
This may explain the embarrassing moment of feminist foreign policy that the Federal Foreign Office gave us this week. The women's activist Masih Alinejad, a human hurricane with an impressive mane of curls and an unbridled rage against the mullah regime in Iran, especially its veiling laws, was supposed to meet Annalena Baerbock's officials for an interview. Anyone who follows Alinejad's work would have guessed that she would have used the interview in the media. Alinejad is courageous to the point of contempt for death.
Underestimated cowardice
But that was too much for feminist foreign policy. Alinejad canceled the visit because she had been forbidden to report on the meeting in public. The German government's human rights commissioner said that "confidentiality had been agreed in advance". If this is feminist foreign policy - may I see the chauvinist one again?
CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen called the Foreign Office's stance "cowardly". Cowardice is an ugly word. But it has played a clearly underestimated role in this madness since October 7.
- Despite the horrific actions of Hamas, which include massacres, terrorism, and hostage taking in the Gaza Strip, some individuals and organizations have remained silent, choosing to obfuscate the situation rather than taking a clear stance against Palestinian terrorists.
- The silence and obfuscation surrounding the actions of Hamas have led to a dangerous situation, where publicly criticizing institutional murderers and rapists, such as Hamas terrorists, is considered ambivalent or taboo.
- The fear of violence and intimidation, often perpetuated by pro-Palestinian activists and Islamists, has also contributed to a chilling effect, making it risky for individuals to show solidarity with Israel and publicly condemn Hamas' actions.
Source: www.ntv.de
