As a Jew, I feel no personal animosity toward today’s Germans for the sins of previous generations. I see Germany as an American ally with whom I sometimes agree and sometimes disagree. While I may be more concerned when reading about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Germany than I would with respect to other countries, I firmly believe that Germany and Germans should be judged by their actions not their history.
So my question is this: if Jews (and non-Jews) can accept modern Germany as a full-fledged member of the family of civilized nations 60 years after the Nazis exterminated 6 million Jews, when does Israel get to be an equal member of the democratic world, rather than continue to be vilified in Europe because 500,000 Arabs fled Israel 60 years ago under encouragement from their own leaders, in a war the Arabs started with the stated aim of destroying the Jewish community in Palestine. At the same time, the Arabs evicted close to a million Jews from their countries for which no anti-Israel advocate has ever held them accountable.
The victorious allies in WW2 had no problem forcing 12 million Germans out of their previous homes, an act of which caused 2 million deaths as the refugees traveled a long way to Germany without international aid. Yet Israel must somehow atone for its “original sin” of the Palestinian refugee problem, which was caused by the Arabs, and maintained Arab countries and international aid, rather than resettling them (most didn’t really go very far) in nearby Arab countries where they speak the same language, practice the same religion and share the same culture.
