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On Tuesday the German Parliament approved a resolution to condemn
Antisemitism in Germany. Just a week after a dispute between the
conservative Christian Democrats and The Left (former East German
Socialist Unity Party) prevented the joint adoption of the resolution,
a revised draft was adopted by the Christian Democrats, the Social
Democrats, the Liberals and the Greens, while an identical text was
separately passed by The Left. The Christian Democratic Union and the
Christian Social Union had refused to sign a joint resolution with The
Left, arguing that the latter had not properly faced up to its
antisemitic and anti-Zionist East German past and still has quite a
number of antisemites within its ranks.
Petra Pau, Vice-President of the German Bundestag and member of the
Left Party, said "that she is very content with the outcome" in a
personal conversation with BBI's Adam Mouchtar on Thursday.
The resolution refers to antisemitism a "problem in German society
that still demands serious attention" and asks the German government to
establish a team of experts which will offer measures to combat
antisemitism in the Federal Republic. It also asks the government to
continue supporting the growth of Jewish life in Germany and to promote
public school education on the subject. Moreover, it recommends on the
usage of the ODIHR / FRA (EUMC) Working Definition of Antisemitism by
state authorities in their work. Moreover, it calls solidarity with
Israel an "unsurrenderable part of German raison d'état", stating that
those who burn Israeli flags and chant antisemitic slogans at
demonstrations cannot be partners in the fight against antisemitism.
This is a clear reference to various leading members of The Left who in
recent years participated in such public rallies. Furthermore, the
resolution notes that shows of solidarity with "terrorist and
antisemitic groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah" are beyond any
legitimate criticism of Israeli policies. However, neither does it call
for a ban on these movements, nor for any foreign policy measures
against Iran and other propagators of state-sponsored antisemitism in
the wider Muslim world, even though the speeches of the Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his
threats to "erase Israel from the map" are in fact mentioned and the problem of "Arab and Islamic
antisemitism" is also more generally identified as "a global danger".
Most importantly, the resolution demands the creation of a commission
of academics and functionaries that should be tasked with producing a
regular report on antisemitism in Germany and with passing
recommendations regarding both the development and the improvement of
programs that deal with the problem. It remains to be seen to what
extent this body will be ready to also confront "new" forms of
antisemitism that have become virulent at the centre of society and
among elites. This in turn will depend largely on who will sit on this
commission.
Legislators crafting the motion over the past few months wanted to see
it approved before ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the
pogroms of November 1938 - commonly referred to as "Kristallnacht"
(crystal night) – on November 9th.
Meanwhile, the German government released new statistics on antisemitic
and right-wing extremist crimes that showed that 800 antisemitic
criminal acts were registered in Germany through September and 14.000
right-wing crimes, up from about 8.000 in 2007. Twenty-seven people
were injured in anti-Jewish attacks in the first nine months of 2008;
in all of 2007 the number was 13. The figures are not yet conclusive
due to the fact that some incidents for 2008 may only get reported as
late as mid-2009.
Adam Mouchtar, Director, BBI EU Affairs and Dr Yves Pallade, Director, BBE/F.A.N.
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