Israel Gets a Better Reception from Berlin than Washington — That’s a Man Bites Dog Story
The conservative daily Die Welt, the newspaper closest to Chancellor Merkel, interviewed Netanyahu at length and gave the Israeli prime minister space to make a full and eloquent defense of Israel’s position. Like Merkel, the Die Welt journalists registered their regret over expansion of “settlements,” but in the context of softball questions. All this praising by faint damn is of great help to Netanyahu.
What explains Chancellor Merkel’s sympathy towards Israel? Part of it is simple righteousness. Mrs. Merkel rose through the democracy movement in East Germany during the last years of the Cold War — she speaks Russian with Vladimir Putin — and came to believe in democracy the hard way. Second, the German chancellor is a righteous Gentile who believes that Germany has a special obligation to the State of Israel and the Jewish people. She has demonstrated this again and again, for example, by intervening to insure that b’rit milah — Jewish ritual circumcision– remained legal in Germany despite attempts to prohibit it. And third — and in this case most important — Mrs. Merkel is a practical woman of high intelligence, trained as a scientist and toughened by years in political life. She has no patience with Obama’s utopianism.
Germany is changing. Its economy is doing reasonably well despite the European recession, because it is exporting more to Eastern Europe, Russia and China. A recent opinion poll asked Germans to name the world’s most important economy. Sixty percent said China and only 30% said the United States. As Germany acts in its own economic interests in the absence of American leadership, it will continue to gravitate towards strong and vibrant countries such as Israel and disengage from hopeless losers like Spain — or the Arabs. Nothing succeeds like success, and Israel’s reception by the practical Mrs. Merkel is further proof of its standing in the world. A lot of things will change in the next couple of years. I just don’t know whether we’ll hear about them here in the United States.
What do you expect? Netanyahu virtually endorsed Romney. Don’t you think there is going to be payback especially when the American Jewish community gave 70% of its vote to Obama?
What I thought was really interesdting that in the midst of the flareup over Gaza it was President Peres who appeared on American telvision not theprime minister.
You might just have it backwards. It is not that the “gang of 5″ behaved the way they did, but it was Merkel acting in the coordination with the American. No real damage, but it does send Bibi a message about who is the “meanest dog in the junkyard.”
Surely, you’re not implying that Obama is a junkyard dog, much less the meanest one. Winning an election – particularly against the GOP – is not the same as leading, much less governing. He’s done neither.
I doubt Netanyahu lies awake worrying about Obama. His revised settlement policy hasn’t changed.
OK, maybe junkyard dog is a bit over the top. Maybe the alpha male is better. Seriously, every American administration since Nixon has been committed to settle the Palestine issue. Obama may be the one to force it.
As for O’s leadership abilities, he has revolutionized the delivery of health care. It is not that I think that AHCA is the best thing since sliced bread but, if anyone has a better idea for universal coverage, it will have to put it on the table. That, QED, is leadersip.
Force it how, Bob? First spell out a conceivable “settlement,” then spell out how Obama can achieve it. As for what Nixon’s and succeeding administrations were or were not “committed to,” that also is far less than clear.
Your underlying assumption is that Israeli intransigence is the main obstacle to a “settlement” whatever you imagine that to be. In this you may be in agreement with your great leader in the White House but it does not make either of you right.
Mr. Levavi, the outlines of a deal would look something like this: Israel abandons all of the occupied territories — everything reverts to the conditions of June 6 1967. In return, right of return is cancelled.
The Arabs would never agree to this, but really they have no choice.The Palestine Authority becomes de facto and de jure the responsible for
Bob – Bob – I thoguht you were serious! You are just have amazing comedic timing!
We revert to the ’67 “Auschwitz” borders, gives up the security settlements along the Jordan, gives up the old city, builds a wall down the middle of various heavily-populated Northern Neighborhoods of Jerusalem, expels hundreds of thousands of Jews (and what of the Israeli Arabs who live there?) – can you imagine ANY Israeli government agreeing to that? Any? Heck, that anti-religious nut Lapid saiud he wouldn’t give up Ariel, and that’s in SAMARIA, not the capital!
Does it rain a lot in your dimension?
I thought we were having a rational political discussion, Bob. Alas, your response to me falls into the realm of psychiatry. Having no training in the field, I can’t be of help to you. Best of luck though.
Sorry — Respnse got chewed up. I’ll try again next time
Let me know how well your Middle East proposal is received in DC and Jerusalem.
Obama pretty much single-handedly wrecked the negotiations he inherited by putting Abbas in an untenable position that has led to Palestinian abrogation of Oslo by the specific action just taken in the UN. Spokesmen for Hamas have already pronounced it a dead letter. The administration knew this and either chose to do nothing, or more likely could do nothing given its current low standing with all parties. This administration has been utterly feckless with regard to Israeli-Palestinian issues: By contrast, Bush froze them but didn’t roll them back as Obama has managed through his sheer incompetence.
As far as the PPACA is concerned, Obama had little to do with the forming or the passage of the legislation. Give credit where it’s due: That was the creation of House and Senate Dem’s with little constructive input from the White House. It’s more than ironic that it’s come to be labeled Obamacare.
As far as revolutionizing health care? No. Insurance coverage is not to be confused with health care, much less health care delivery. You are apparently unaware that everyone in the country can receive treatment regardless of ability to pay: By law, emergency rooms and hospitals can not turn away patients or refuse to treat. There may be lines and waiting, but there is treatment. This doesn’t count the number of free clinics that also exist nor does it count the social safety net programs that currently exist. The PPACA adds nothing to this. What it has done and will continue to do is increase cost of insurance coverage without reducing the cost of delivery. The poor and the old have coverage through Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security disability. Those without coverage could have been covered through a program of premium support – that’s viable option that’s been out there for some time.
Implementation of the PPACA will make a mess of the current private insurance market as many involved with small businesses are already finding out. Example: My wife works for a small regional planning commission. Her premiums will increase by $700-800 and her deductible will increase by $1000 for FY’13. The coverage is provided by BC/BS of KC. The increases are a direct consequence of the PPACA. The company refuses to project what they will charge in FY’14 because they do not yet know how to underwrite given the severe limitations both in risk evaluation and premium levels with full implementation in FY’14. In the meeting when all this was revealed, the Obama supporters were noticeably subdued – in particular when they learned that premiums were going to hiked substantially for that coverage of children until age 26 and that they can not, under the law, purchase individual policies for dependents. And this is just one tiny part of what will become FUBAR within 2-3 years.
The PPACA: One of the worst written laws … evaaaaah.
” if anyone has a better idea for universal coverage, it will have to put it on the table. That, QED, is leadersip. (SIC)”.
You must be joking? But, you have exposed what the left and Obama really want – a single-payer system, i.e. socialist medicine.
An interesting question might be, why is it that the demographic-death spiraling, atheistic Germans choose Merkel while Americans (twice!) choose Obama.
We’re in the same boat.
The reason Germans chose Merkel (barely) is because they don’t trust the socialists to be trusted with money. That’s OK when times are good, and there’s plenty to go around, but in tough times, the CDU will always win.
Merkel has remained popular by moving to he Left of the opposition on key issues. She has wrecked her party’s identity as a reliable, cautious institution. The oppositon felt emboldened to move even more towards central planning and social engineerng.
Having moved the Overton window will be Merkel’s legacy. There is little left to choose in German politics, which is why Merkel will win, but fewer and fewer Germans even bother to vote. Do not trust her.
The fact is ( I am sorry this may be a conspiracy ) Obama sides with the Muslims every chance he gets. Merkel understands that the US is trending towards a socialist country with increase frequency of Muslims being appointed positions of power within our government.
Better to side with the Israeli’s.
Gordon, do NOT apologize for anything, and you are not positing a conspiracy theory. If only that were the case!
Barack Hussein Obama sides with Muslims because of his familial roots, and he also believes that the third world is right, regardless of their heinous actions.
And if you want enough proof – to choke a horse – to shore up your theory, take a peek here – http://adinakutnicki.com/2012/10/11/the-islamist-in-chief-his-kenyan-wahhabi-relatives-obamas-inner-roots-addendum-to-the-ties-that-bind-the-islamist-in-chief-to-sunni-islam-commentary-by-adina-kutnicki/
His actions are not for nothing. They are a DELIBERATE and a distinct product of his Red/Green background (and the Red side comes from his mama and ‘uncle Frank’).
Adina …you have a great blog …where do you think this will end? I think badly …not the Germany – Israel part but the other issue.
cheers
You are exactly right.
Merkel represents the last gasp of Germany’s aspirations for something worthwhile as a nation — the East German democracy movement. She is something of an anomaly in German politics — fortunately, a benign one.
Benign, yes. She’s certainly interested in staying in charge, but aside from that she has a few unusual qualities: Is sober, very intelligent and not narcissistic. Can stand criticism which seems to be entirely different with Obama. Merkel might learn something from criticism. She is able to make compromises if a bipartisan approach is necessary like in the crisis. She is not only interested in the nation, but in Europe. Has a totally uncorrupted personality, imho. Is modest. Pays for her clothes, doesn’t annoy anybody with extravagant vacations. Has altogether a good judgement which got only lost once.
Merkel was not part of the Democracy movement.
What a ridiculous “story”
So you’ve compiled a list of symbolic actions that have no effect on anyone, from “observer status” to “summoning the ambassador”. The only thing that happened in the real world is that 3000 Israeli families will be able to find apartments.
And of course you claimed that somehow, mysteriously, through black magic, Obama is in control of every idiot who wastes his time writing Israel the dreaded strongly worded letter.
I’m sure Israeli children will be up at night in terror, knowing that their ambassador to Sweden had to sit through an uncomfortable meeting.
The point of summoning the ambassador is to raise the threat of sanctions — BDS at the official level. In fact, the Brits said “off the record” that they are not thinking of sanctions, which means they are. It’s more than a minor annoyance.
Brits are the most anti-semiticpeople of all of Europe. The only reason they never killed Jews (en-masse) was because they deported them!
They have been de-facto boycotting and santioning Israel and Israeli’s for years.
Americans, OTOH, BUYCOTT!
As Bismarck said and modern Germans remember but neocon think tankers in D.C. don’t, always make a good treaty with Russia.
Funny you should mention that. I’ve heard Bismarck quoted to that effect a lot this year during my visits to Berlin.
Russians like their cherny bumeri.
Good post. We have a lot to learn from Germany, from how we treat Israel to healthcare, trade, and industrial policy.
Indeed. Ive come to favor industrial policy, but not the foolishness of German tanking nuclear power and their hairbrained Green Energy schemes.
And then there is this…
Germany: Image of Islam ‘Devastating’
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3487/germany-fear-east-west
Turks in Turkey are reproducing below replacement; we don’t have detailed data on fertility of Turkish immigrants, but German secular society is pretty efficient at corrupting them. If you have to have Muslim immigrants, you want Turks rather than Pakistanis, who never seem to assimilate (as in the UK). I don’t think Germany is going to be taken over by Muslim immigrants any time soon.
Who wants a massive minority of Turks dual loyal to the Neo Ottoman Islamist regime in powerful Turkey combined with a dual loyal Muslims infected with global Islamist ressurgent movement in their country?
That is the question. The population of Muslims and Turks is rising in Germany relative to the German Christian population.
The Austrians and Germans have been getting pressure from Turkish diplomats to bend to Turkish and Muslim interests domestically. The natives arent amused.
No, America must be America. You cannot replicate the historical conditions that led to Germany having a relatively honest and efficient civil service, or its system of vocational training or a cultural tradition of hard work and obsessively good engineering. American industrial policy will be American, corrupt and expensive, and will not lead to an innovative manufacturing sector that can export. Small government is the Ameican way and a cargo cult of industrial policy will only hurt.
Right now it is hurting Germans as well. Current policy in Germany as in the US aims to wreck industry, so we are already copying what will not work. Merkel is giving Germans skyrocketing energy costs that Obama can only dream of.
Even German success is largely down to hard work and entrepreneurship more than politicians, and not standing in the way of both is the only industrial policy anyone needs.
Let me add, you would need a completely new and unpoliticized legal system too.
Occasionally, in diplomacy, it is worthwhile to state the truth. Israel is, and has been, surrounded by murderous tyrants, who oppress their own people, while vowing death and destruction on Israel. The people of these lands, have legitimate, and severe complaints about their poverty and harsh oppression. The US has a string of Presidents whose summed contribution to progress is nonexistent to this intractable problem. Warren Christopher wore out jet engines to no avail. George Michell did also. Tony Blair spends his post big shot years in this retirement sink. George Bush gave up any hope that a US President could be useful and was roundly damned for his judgment. President Obama claims to have a new approach, distancing the US from Israel, and moving closer to the Islamic nations. He failed to become an honest broker for either side; no body trusts him.
With a high level of ignorance, I can separate two distinct policy positions: The US will spend blood and treasure to assure the existence of Israel, but how to achieve peace is not clear to anyone. True peace is achievable only if both sides really want it more than conquest. This, not housing developments, is the problem. IMHO, building them is poking a stick in the PLO’s eye; it just makes things worse. The sole answer I see, is for the US to tell the money people behind Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO, and the Gulf nations that their enemy is a nuclear Iran, not Israel. If Iran makes a deliverable nuke, or if Iran and Israel get into a nuclear war, Islam will never be the same. Parts, and people, may not exist. That is an point most can work to avoid.
I pray for peace in Jerusalem.
There is no way to achieve peace. Enmity with Israel is very useful to the Muslim states, it gives them something to focus on rather than killing each other or massacring their own minorities or even reform.
There’s never gonna be peace, talk about an agreement is a waste of time. Stop caring about peace in the middle east and you’ll sleep better.
If Israel were to disappear tommorrow, the focus would merely shift to the European Christians and the Indian Hindus and of course the Great Satan filled with Jews. The Iberian Penninsula needs retaking as well as the Gates of Vienna.
I pray for the peace of Jerusalem as well.
I think it rather obvious, contrary to those who tell us that the plain words we hear we are actually not hearing, that Iran desires to destroy Israel. That is the plan, that is the goal. They will not be dissuaded any more from attacking Israel with nuclear weapons as soon as practicable any more than Harry S Truman was dissuaded from using nuclear weapons against Japan.
In stark contrast to the doctrine of MAD that kept rational men from imposing Armageddon upon both the enemy and the self during the Cold War, the Mullahs want to depart this life, this planet, for the next world having having destroyed it. That is what they believe. That is what they profess. I, for one, believe them.
This, I believe, is the game changer. Yes there is ubiquitous propaganda, by government media, to foster popular hatred of Israel and divert attention from wholly domestic Islamic disasters. This has been true since 1947. What is new is a possible Iranian nuke. If Iran becomes a nuclear power, her Arab neighbors are defenseless, particularly if she works an accommodation with Israel and the US. Does she want to reestablish a Persian empire, or be mutually annihilated with Israel, guaranteed by US power? The middle east has become militarily unstable, and dictators fear instability. Saddam Hussein, Mubarak, and Qaddafi are examples. Assad will be next, and he is stuck on whether to use missile delivered WMD and who to use them against? Would Jordan value an iron dome? Saudi Arabia?
It is an ancient conundrum: If an Persian Muslim wants to end your world, is he a friend? If a Jew can save your life, can you cuss him? What does he say?
Israel should stop pouring concrete, find an Arab who seeks real peace, and wants to live. Then talk.
So Israel should stop building housing because it might inflame terrorists to attack.
Got it.
And they should just ignore the constant rocket attacks; retaliation infuriates them.
But dead Jews? That makes them happy.
What is P. E. anyway? Presidential Educator?
Iran can’t make a working refrigerator, let alone a deliverable atomic weapon. And the much-vaunted Shahab-3 is nothing more than a two-stage version of the V-2, a rocket that other countries have in their war museums. Any tin-pot thugocracy can say that it has accurate MRBMs and deliverable atomic warheads (e.g., Pakistan, NK, Iran). I’ll believe it when (1) they explode an atomic device smaller than a gymnasium; and (2) their rocket can hit a pre-announced target in the Indian Ocean. I’m not holding my breath.
“True peace is achievable only if both sides really want it more than conquest”
The only obstacle to peace is the terroristic and nihilistic ideology of the Arabs.
So let me get this straight: the nation that almost single handedly was responsible for the holocaust, the impetus for the creation of the Jewish state, is now more closely allied with Israel than the nation that was most responsible for defeating that nation in the Second World War?
I do not like living in this real world version of Through the Looking Glass. It’s too confusing.
The administration, maybe, but not the nation: The ties between Israel and the US transcend any single administration. Obama got elected in part by occulting his foreign policy objectives from the voters.
There lies the incongruity of the matter.
We could have a vast majority of the citizenry in full support of Israel’s efforts to defend her sovereignty, but if our representatives in Congress and the White House are at once antagonistic towards Israel while simultaneously and deceptively declaring their full support…
Well, we have come to expect nothing less from this administration.
There is every reason to believe that Obama grasps a dagger that he full well intends to plunge deeply between Israel’s shoulder blades.
The holocaust was not the original impetus for the creation of the state of Israel. Theodor Herzl envisaged, and wrote about, a homeland for the Jews in their ancestral territories roughly 30 years before Hitler took power. By that time Jewish immigration to Israel had been well under way for two decades.
Also think of the famous Balfour Declaration of 1917 (date correct?).
To attribute the creation of Israel to the holocaust actually embraces an Arab figure of thought, à la “Why should we have to pay for the sins of the Germans?” But the idea of a modern-day Israel has roots and reasons deeper than the holocaust, and unconnected to it.
This is not to deny, of course, that the holocaust, and whatever news spread about it, then lent a massively increased sense of urgency to the project of resuscitating the state of Israel.
Look at a calendar, my friend. WW II wasn’t last week or last year; it ended in 1945, which is 67 years ago. A lot has happened in that time.
(West) Germany began making substantial financial contributions to Israel starting shortly after WW II. This was at a time when Germany was in a very dire state due to the war and desperately needed every available penny to commence reconstruction. But it felt its debt to the Jews made that assistance imperative.
Since that time, Germany and Israel have become good friends. Germany’s support for Israel may seem bizarre if you think only of WW II and today but if you take the intervening years into account, it makes a lot more sense.
Most especially, the generation responsible for the Holocaust has almost completely died off, and what’s left of them are very old.
I would hesitate to say Germany was solely responsible for the Holocaust. It would not have been possible without hundreds of thousands of ‘willing executioners’ of non-German nationality from the Baltics (remember that the next time you hear about some poor old Latvian SS veterans wanting to march before they die and how mean Russia is to Latvia) to Ukraine to France to Hungary. But no doubt Germany unleashed it.
It seems you are indulging the Arab myth that Israel only came about because of the “holocaust” and that the Arabs have somehow been victimized and had “their land” stolen. Zionism and the Jewish presence in Israel long pre-dates WWII.
Good for Germany, she is the linchpin of Europe as Bismark foresaw it, except for WWI and WWII when we saw the ugly side of a very talented country. I hope and pray that Germany will continue to stand for righteousness while the rest of the world is losing it,that includes America.
Today I feel like I’m in a bad dream hoping to wake up and realize all is well and it was just a silly nightmare…but this nightmare has another 4 year run and I’m afraid that when I wake up the reality will be worse that my nightmare.
Germany should be thanked, and I bet those in power in Germany aren’t saying that they hate dealing with Netanyahu and that he is a liar, but will accept that a strong Israel is a benefit to the area, and a shining beacon of freedom for all.
Just to remind you, Merkel was the one who nixed the Brandenburg Gate as the scene of Obama’s campaign speech. When she met with him after his speech, he description was diplomatically polite, not fawning like most Germans including SPD politicians.
I saw Finance Minister Schauble on TV last week. He mentioned that Geithner had put pressure on Germany to follow US policies regarding the finance crisis. He said that the Germans had followed their own way and that they were right.
These are just two bits that make me think the current government is not awed by Obama.
The German government is supportive of Israel. The people are not. The German government is comprised of the bureaucratic elite that see the EU as the only bulwark against a fourth reich. Thus they support Israel because they still see it as a mark of being ‘not Nazi’. The German people on the other hand had no problems outlawing Brit Mila or voting Israel the greatest threat to peace. As for the Europeans coluding with the Obama administration to slap Netanyahu’s hands, who cares? As long as Obama takes a cue from George Bush’s 1st term and stays out of fruitless “peace processing”. The BDS movement is not succeeding in it’s attempts to cripple Israel’s economy. Both the US and the EU know that if they shut out Israel from their markets, the Russians, indians and Chinese will gladly pay top dollar for top technology. Thus the BDS movement is allowed to be noisy but not really sucessful in any meaningful way.
I tell my German friends that World War II was a real tragedy — there’s no way they could have lost, if only they had gotten the Jews on their side. And they tell me not to worry — they won’t make the same mistake next time.
Germany lost the war when Hitler declared war on the United States. Our industrial base was untouchable, and we had the manpower to overwhelm Germany, while Russia kept grinding them out.
I think that Hitler was toast when he launched Operation Barbarosa.
He completely ignored history when he deigned to subrogate the Soviets.
Churchill would agree with you that the Third Reich was doomed once the Americans entered the war.
Lamentable, glad that you aren’t a German
in 1914 the German Jews were fighting with the Germans, and the whole lot lost the war
but the failure was put on the German Jews’s schoulders !
No, it was put on the shoulders of the centrist and left-wing democratic parties who negotiated the treaty of Versailles with the Western countries after.
The “Dolchstoßlegende” was a propaganda scheme by the far and extreme right to target the liberal, socialist and catholic politicians. For sure some anti-semitic circles were pressing against the Jews, too, and even Wilhelm II joined in this when going mad after Germany’s defeat, but the public discussion wasn’t centred this.
But Rathenau was assassinated in 1922 after having given good services for Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walther_Rathenau
Germany lost the war when they invaded Russia. The greatest myth surrounding WWII is Russia was marginal player…It was main reason Nazi’s were beaten back. Nazi Army had many times the divisions fighting Russia than on Western Front, which is why Allied landing at France was successful. The Nazi army was focused on Russia, not England and USA in France. Had Russia not been invaded, those resources would have focused on Western front and History would have recorded very different results.
The first post on this thread is correct, Netanyahu listened to Rove and company interpretations and rigged Polling and fell behind Romney. Exactly what was expected..? Israeli leadership tossed the dice and crapped out supporting Romney. Next time they will listen to real mathematicians and not paid political hacks.
Russia a marginal player?
At no time, then or ’till now, has anyone ever asserted that.
===========
It’s too much to fix all of your misconceptions…
But, if you want to learn…
Study up the Russian admissions as to just how much Lend Lease aid they received during the war.
1) Stalin sourced ALL of his steam locomotive production from a super-factory in Leningrad. The German advance shut it down. America stepped up and shipped 2,000 full power Baldwin locomotives. Other than repairs — these were the only locomotives available to replace those lost to Luftwaffe strafing attacks. Without them, the Red Army would’ve been helpless in every dimension.
2) America provided ALL of Russia’s military trucks: Studebakers — the entire factory output went to the Red Army. Her pre-war truck factories were entirely converted over to tanks and whatnot.
3) America provided ALL of Russia’s radio tubes. German forces overran the ONLY radio tube factory in Russia — in the western outskirts of Moscow. It was so small that they didn’t realize what they’d achieved. Stalin was able to con America that his need for radio tubes was merely to step up his production of radios. In fact, he was so desperate that tubes were physically removed from existing equipment — reserved for command radio nets!
American radio tubes were so urgent, they were air flown to the Russia. It was ONLY with these tubes that the T-34 tanks regained their radio sets. Until late 1942 ALL T-34s had to roll without any radios at all. They transformed the military utility of the T-34. Radios in their tanks made the encirclement of Stalingrad possible.
4) American ( Bell Labs / Western Electric ) landlines entirely equipped the Red Army from 1942 onwards. We shipped gear that was supposed to go to the US Army and re-prioritized it for the Red Army. Such cannibalizations caused American formations to be delayed in readiness.
The upshot was that German B’Dienst (radio emission interception ) units no longer had radio traffic to pick up. Hence, Operation Uranus ( Stalingrad pocket ) was an utter surprise. Even advancing troops could now stay off the air by rolling along American military telephone sets. The only traffic left was tank to tank and such.
5) The British captured the B’Dienst detachment with Rommel in Africa — prior to the big battle at el Alamein. They bagged an Enigma machine — and clear cut evidence that the Germans had been reading virtually all of the British signals. ( radio traffic )
The breach in signals security cost F.M. Auchinleck his command.
The news got back to Moscow,(via MI6′s traitors who leaked the sensational news?) pronto.
Subsequently, the NKVD used commandos to capture the solitary Enigma machine that had been dispatched – against Hitler’s absolute orders – to the Hungarian Army, on 6th Army’s northern flank. It was some daring do. White out conditions made it impossible to see your hands in front of your body.
With this machine in hand, and the Germans captured, the NKVD detachment spoofed German cypher traffic — issuing orders in Hitler’s name! This, the deepest secret of the operation has been kept classified for decades. We know the Russians pulled it off because when the transmissions went out Hitler was out of communications – riding his private train back to Berlin from the Eagle’s Nest.
And, of course, any other transmitter using Hitler’s authority would’ve been shot and tortured. ( Not in that order. )
Thus, in just these snap shots we see that Russia was propped up by the West; vitally so.
It is the Russians and Leftists who use your language and blather.
Nonsense, it is.
I’ll leave out the rest of the Russian production miracle that was solely due to Lend Lease aid. It’s even more mind boggling than the items detailed here.
Get a clue.
WND EXCLUSIVE 2ND BITE TO CHALLENGE OBAMA’S ELIGIBILITY?
http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/2nd-bite-to-challenge-obamas-eligibility/
Surprise, surprise, Obama’s a raging antisemite. If that’s a surprise to you at this late you’re either hopelessly naive or an ostrich.
President Barack Hussein Obama was a member of the church of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, who is not only anti-American and anti-white, but anti-semitic. Obama is, at the very least, a supporter of Mohammedanism, if not a Muslim himself, so this leads to his anti-Israel position. His behavior to Prime Minister Netanyahu, when Netanyahu visited the White House, was outrageous.
Under ALL muslim doctrines Barry is a muslim by dint of birth to a muslim father.
Period, stop.
Muslim doctrine does not permit one born into the creed to ‘make-up-ones-own-mind.’
Such a notion is a quaint Western norm.
So, while you’ll see no end of Western writers confused on the issue, no muslim has any doubts at all: Soetoro HAS to be a muslim.
The only issue left is whether he is a murtard/ (faith traitor) or not.
As time rolls by, Barry constantly shows muslims that he’s not a murtard. He goes out of his way to attend to muslim strictures.
One of which is to NOT observe ones own birthday with any celebration of any kind. It’s a petty detail — but Barry has made sure that his birthdays go without any break in the ordinary routine — and does not permit anyone to present him birthday gifts. ( Again, such gifts are against Mo’s hadiths. )
There are no instances of Soetoro ever transgressing on these and other petty strictures.
Thus we have him speechifying on every muslim holiday — while bastardizing Jewish and Christian holidays.
germany adopting better relations w/ Israel is great. Happy Hannuka. we all need some good news. with the u.s. in the hands of who knows what, i hope it helps to stabilize the world. besides, i wouldn’t trust our transparent kenyan (his word) out of sight. and Israel having to maybe wind up having to trust him? well, just ask a certain late libyan ambassador’s family (and many others – x-seals, f&f victims families) what they think about trusting the butcher of benghazi.
as far as just what country worked hardest to beat the germans in WWII, with japan secretly attacking and blowing our navy out of the water, russia should be very glad the u.s. was able to respond as they did. i know europe was.
I think you have been influenced too much by your German friends. Merkel is our generation’s Thatcher, but opinion poll after opinion poll confirm that the German population share the same view of Israel as most of the European population, and it is not favorable. Israel’s most reliable friends are still found in the US, Canada and Australia.
Israel’s future rests on three things: 1) Jewish scientific genius – like the guys who developed the software that took over Iran’s nuclear facilities and the guys who figured out how to intercept a speeding bullet with another speeding bullet going in the opposite direction. 2) Jewish demographics – conservative jews – religious and secular – have many more children than the nihilists and marxists who will no longer exist as Jews because they either failed to procreate or their children converted to Islamomarxism.
3) finally, wishing for resolute Jewish political leadership. If not Netanyahu, the next more conservative guy waiting in the wings.
The majority of Germans favored a ban on circumcision as well. Merkel is a lot better than her voters. She is bitterly opposed by the left and the supranational types whom Marie Claude likes to cite. Germany certainly could go in the wrong direction. At the moment, things could be worse.
hmm shared by lots of conservative people in Europe, and more than half of the Germans
Conservative in Europe often means collectivist and anti-liberal, which in America means “liberal”, i.e. left wing.
You’re the alone chroniker that buys into Merkel discourse
it’s just opportunism because Merkel’s government abstained to take a position in its usual line, for avoiding to ruin german corporations businesses
Ulrich Beck describes her as Merkevialli
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-88963881.html
in english language here:
-http://www.opendemocracy.net/ulrich-beck/power-of-merkiavelli-angela-merkel%E2%80%99s-hesitation-in-euro-crisis
The fate of Palestine is of no importance in the major markets, so it’s highly unlikely that there are any mercantile motives in Germany’s Middle East policy. Except maybe in the research collaborations between Germany in Israel.
Don’t believe that, Germany is involved there more than you think:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/19/us-syria-crisis-germany-idUSBRE87I06D20120819
Turkey, Egypt, Israel, former Syria, Iran are her Clients, not only for german cars, but for arms too.
Gasprom (whose shareholding is 40% Germany’s) is interested too.
The ME is a old dream for Germany
“Why Germany abstained from the UN vote on Palestine”
http://972mag.com/why-germany-abstained-from-the-un-vote-on-palestine/61383/
Because Germany only cares for her Mercantilism
One thing that Germany does NOT care about is “die Welschen” (loosely translated, speakers of Romance languages). Germany is slowly but profoundly shifting its economic horizon towards the East, where the orders are. Call that mercantilism if you want, but Germans have to make a living same as anyone else. What do you expect them to do?
your wish
like in the good ol times
but that’s not counting with the euro blowing up, and your Hedge funds with it, hello Weimar all again
This will only happen, if France screws up. Germany’s exports to Southern Europe are shrinking each year in double-digits, while going up to Asia in equal speed, so the south is not the problem, I think.
no Asia is helpless now too China is stalmating
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=525603420783428&set=a.494040677273036.119357.482885751721862&type=1&theater
By voting for a state of “Palestine”, the international community has endorsed the principle that the Palestinians dont have to negotiate with Israel, all they have to do is have the UN impose a settlement. So there is little else for Israel to do while it waits for the UN to impose a settlement except build its own settlements. So while the UN rallies its troops against Israel, stopping for weighty matters as Jon Stewart and Janet jacksons bra size, Israel should build speedily and vigorouosly, encompassing Jerusalem with Israeli settlements. It is a zero sum game
David,
you are absolutely right the world is changing, I’m not sure if it is for the better. In the meantime Israel is doing everything in its power to survive in the age of Obama. I’m afraid the American people will pay a heavy price for Obama’s withdrawal from the world. We all know what happens when is a power vacuum, right now what Hussein O is doing is creating a huge worldwide power vacuum. God help us all.
“God help us all.”
Indeed!
The US has been sliced up and is bleeding away, one judge’s decision at a time. The world’s judicial fools will eventually be the death of Israel. Not suicide bombers or nukes or protests or sanctions. “Living” interpretations of the law will strike the final death blow. Jews are conservatively ranked third only to WASPS, and of course Germans, in an ultimately suicidal respect for authority.
The world will never change so much, it seems, that it wont expect American blood and money and then comfortable mock her after the checks clear and the bodies are buried.
In two wars with Germany, and in Iraq and Afghanistan the country that fielded its military along side America was England. Britain and the US kicked the Japanese out of China and southeast Asia, and fought the Germans at the same time.
In fact British and American soldiers are in the middle east right now doing what they can to destabilize Israels enemies.
The lesson should be we cannot pay people to be our friends.
Hallo Marie,
Germany abstained in the UN vote about the PA’s status, because Jerusalem asked to do so. Netanjahu hoped that Merkel could make the EU to abstain as a block. When this didn’t work out, Netanjahu wanted Berlin to vote against, but Merkel refused as she feared that this kind of flip-flopping would damage Germany’s international standing.
So it was not a suprise that Germany abstained, except for your member of the Palestinian committee.
could you provide me a source?, because no paper mentionned that
Ever since Mitt Romney lost on November 6th, i’ve noticed that you’ve become even more critical of the United States in your righting. Are you taking out your frustration regarding Obama’s victory by punishing the whole country with your analysis? If the US is going to hell, then pack your bags and head to Tel Aviv.
You always manage to tweak your analysis of events to fit your world view and of what you want to see happen. So can we expect 4 years of US-bashing?
Alas, Dr. Goldman, I must heartfeltly disagree with your positive view of the Netanyahu/Merkel meeting in Germany and the excellent article in the “conservative” Die Welt, a newspaper somewhat disqualified in Germany as is Fox News in America. You have raised the support of Germany’s Merkel for Israel, a counterweight in the face of international reaction by many European nations to the Palestinian UN powergrap. You see German reaction (which, by the way, abstained in the UN vote) as more important than all other European critique. I suggest, alas, that all is not so rosy. I turn to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, supposedly CENTER-right and with considrable influence and constituting also a reflection of societal values. What interests me is the argumentative logic of a editorial by Christiane Hoffmann–an editorial in the vain of other FAZ comments and articles. I turn to the editorial with the title “Ritual und Realität” and will only touch upon its innter logic.
The argumentative structure is evident in the title, translated as “Ritual and Reality”. The editorial writer makes it clear that Germany, in the light of WW II and the Nazis, does for sure support the well-being of Jews, viz., Israel. However, the Israeli use of German guilt has become limited in its validity, indeed, is old hat. The references by Netanyahu to existential needs of Jews in Israel are seen as dipping into the murky chalice of “ritual”, i.e., repeated behaviorial patterns (German guilt response syndrome, something used by Israelis such as Netanyahu to manipulate Germans). In this way, the support extended to Israel by Chancellor Merkel is categorized as worthless “ritual”, i.e., when compared with the “real” Palistinian situation. The devaluation of Merkel is evident in the subtitle: “Due to fear, not to doing the justice of an [historically caused] obligation, the Chancellor whiles away in empty [or flowery] phrases”. The editorial spends time explaining that Merkel’s historical (even moral) comparision of the outdated nature of German “guilt” should have brought the most powerful woman of Europe to silence!
The “flowery phrases” supposedly cover up the serious differences of opinion relative to the settlement policy of Netanyahu (who needed such massive police protection that part of Berlin traffice came to a halt–> implying lack of popularity of Netanyahu). The FAZ interpreted Merkel’s remarks as flowerly ritualistic phrases lacking in all credibility. “Frau Merkel has perfected the ritualization of Israel’s policies”. The attack on the seriousness of Merkel’s comments, “even her speech about the security of Israel”, is that they lack credibility or, in short, Merkel’s “ritual is the false means to live out historical responsiblity”.
The importance of the FAZ editorial does not consist in the accuracy (or not) of its interpretation of Merkel’s support of Israel. No, the importance lies therein that Germans of good will (but with pacifistic tendencies rampant in the population since WW II–> think of the 300,000 strong German protest against the Pershing Missles in the name of peace through disarmament) 1) have found a way to assuage their conscience, remaining staunchly anti-Semetic, but reducing obligations to Israel to a “ritualistic” relic of the past, 2) distinguishing between Israel and Jews per se), 3) a distinction which allows for opposing security needs of Israel (against the pressing “real” needs of the Palestinians), 4) opposing the Netanyahu Israel to the “real” interests of Israel and 5) the inevitable German sympathy for the underdog, particularly one that supposedly had its land snatched away by Israel, all of which (as many did in the Cold War against the USA) inspires Germans, like other Europeans, to demand that Israel meet the Palestianians “half way”, and we know what that means.
I have sought to outline a type of argument that I find ever more frequently here in Germany, one that, as noted above, allows Germans to remain anti-anti-Semetic while opposing the “real” existential interest of Israel, almost fervently so. I would not take such thinking seriously if I had not found it in the FAZ.
Professor, you say that:
- “Germans (…) have found a way to assuage their conscience, remaining staunchly anti-Semetic”
However, Antisemitism is the name for a racial or religious hatred against Jews. It is a grave accusation.
I wouldn’t launch such accusations lightly. Contemporary Germans do not deserve them. I don’t think it fair to insult them.
This, no matter the misguided ideas of some about prohibition of infant circumcision. Remembering that misguided is quite different from: based on hatred. Those dieas incidentally being resisted by many in Germany, not by Chancellor Merkel all by herself.
- Regarding: “distinguishing between Israel and Jews per se”, I may be a bit dense, but I seem to remember that most Jews are NOT Israelis, while a sizable part of Israelis are not Jews. So there is indeed a distinction between being an Israeli and being a Jew.
The comparison with Hinduism and India would hold as of not all Indians being Hindus while Hindus are to be found in other nations too… except of course the vast majority of Hindus are Indians, which is not at all true about Jews wrt Israel. Was not even true in Biblical Times… so this is not exactly breaking news!
The bottom line in my eyes is that whatever one’s opinion of the wisdom and/or legality of extending Israeli colonization of territories occupied during the 1967 war, one can defend that opinion only on its own merits… Attempts to delegitimize other opinions through libel (antisemitism) are futile.
Alexis, I am or was professionally a prof. of literature and philosophy. I am not expert re German opinion as a political scientist might be. I just read newspapers, listen to discussions in tv and talk with citizens. I have never yet met a German who denies the Holocaust or who is consciously anti-Semitic (though in the old East Germany there are quite a few). No respectible news outlet I have read or seen is anti-Jewish per se. I compliment German tv for the incessant documentaries on the Nazi period. Excellent! The past sins have left a mark of obligation on the German mind re Jews. I need not note that Israel was founded as a Jewish state in the aftermath of WW II. Israel is in the last resort a safe haven for persecuted Jews. Or? At the same time, I find a distinct pacifism in Germany. The negative evaluation of Israel by a barber friend is illustrative. It is abhorrent to him that his gov. sold submarines ot Israel, ones which can be used as a deterrent, even a nuclear one. He knows of the existential problematic of Israel. He is not anti-Semitic, but does not grant to Israel the status as somehow representing Jews per se (and there are plenty here and there in this world). Israelis just monopolize too much the German guilt complex. (Outside of Israel, where does Germany owe anything to Jews?) Break the connection between Jews per se and Jews in Israel re falling under German obligation and the foundations for anti-Israeli-Jewish positions are made possible with the simultaneous maintenance of a good conscience. In the distinction between Jews in general and Israelis my friend can and DOES discern a difference between Jews as objects of hate and condemnation and Israelis (= those who support Netanyahu) not as an object of hate, but of condemnation for its reprehensible maltreatment of Palestinians. Technically, this is not anti-Semitism, at least not on the surface. But as I read Günther Grass’s attack of Israel (not Jews), one finding some support here, I had to ask myself if there was not some risidual “hate” for Jews or was it just Grass’s hate of anything to the right (and so Netanyahu is viewed). Many Germans are sensitive to racism against Jews and, quite likely, see at the same time Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as racist (which really relieves guilt feelings). One will not understand European hostility to Jews if one does not accept the fact that a Jew (= object of past crimes) is not a Jew who, particularly in Israel, has existential needs. This may seem strange to you, not to me. It grounds my thesis that very many Germans can assuage their conscience re mistreatment of Jews in the past LAST century, along with any accompanying duties implied, and simultaneously embark upon anti-Israeli positions which, both in substance and rhetoric, leave the unsavory taste in my mouth of a blurring between condemnation and, if not hate, then dislike of Jews in Israel. (And such disdain can spread.) Alas, Europe has a long history of not liking Jews. I do not wish to insult Germans. Heck, I live in Germany and will die here. I feel at home in general. However, due to the very documentaries that German tv shows night in and night out, I have become very sensitive to stimatizing a limited number of Jews (called Israelis under Netanyahu) and Jews in general. The difference is real, but can be crossed with ease. If it is to be so, I do not want such a crossing being doen with good conscience.
Mr. Goldman, this is a bit macabre for you and misses the mood of the masses of Germans today. You may have some German friends who joke about winning WW II, i.e., if they had not destroyed their Jewish “human resources”. If the German leaders had wanted Jews on their side, there might have been no war or one quite different. A bit of humor is fine. However, such off-beat humor is not the cause of this comment. Since WW II German have by and large become pacifistic. You may know some Germans who are willing to engage in war again. I know none, only a precious few that can even tolerate a German token presence in military actions. During the Cold War I knew some young Germans, drafted into the Army, who were ready to defend their country, until, i.e., attacked. At that point they confessed they would surrender their arms and surrender. Better red than dead!! You humor may have left your reader thinking that the Germans are more combat friendly than they are. Polls have more than once certified that this country where I live is basically pacificistic. Merkel may offer some hope of support, her political landscape does not.
Mr Golman’s friends are far-rightist Germans, that his friends at AIPAC are lobbying, in the same vein of Gert Wilders. The difference with the Dutch is that these Germans empathy with the Neo NPD party too
It is useless to ascribe German or Arabic or any other antisemitism to one or another set of historical circumstances. It is not historical, it is existential. Its reason is the coexistence on the same planet of the two subspecies of Homo sapience: Jewish and non-Jewish ones. Their difference is not biological, but spiritual and mental, but, nevertheless, in its roots biologically inherited. Such coexistence will always be problematic and sometimes things will go dire enough. Yes, there is a small number non-Jews who don’t possess inherent proclivity to Jew-hatred and quite sincerely can not understand or imagine any real difference between Jews and non-Jews, and Frau Merkel, probably, belong to these naive and innocent souls.
Interesting. Merkel bears some resemblance to Margaret Thatcher. Tough lady, rigorous scientific background. Rational and ethical.
Why is German support for Israel a “man bites dog” story? The Federal Republic has been a strong supporter of Israel since its founding. Germany is by far the least antisemitic country in Europe. This is a “dog bites man” story.
May be David P. Goldman is right concerning Mrs. Merkel, but it is also possible there is no reason to be so optimistic. I guess Germany as a whole is a bit overvalued at the moment. We are a country in demographic decline and our industries are not the newest. We are expected to govern or better to moderate Europe or at least to work for the best of all different interests here. But we are too small for that.
In my opinion we should be very good friends with Jews and Israel but if you meet average people here they are not able to understand much about that. For example: We need advice what to do with Europe. Has anybody a guess???
Mrs. Merkels stand is not clear for me. The problem: there is no discussion about anything of importance.
Amen!
I hope Amen! is not only ironic here.
Germany has done much more than wish Israel well. They supplied two dolphin, nuclear missile capable submarines absolutely free to Israel and paid half of the cost of a third. The fleet will number five total in 2013, this gives Israel a checkmate to Iran or any other adversary, full second strike nuclear capability. Never mind a few f-16 airframes, these submarines give Israel the capacity to bring nuclear Armageddon to any attacker. Quite a gift.
to Egypt too
Marie,
I don’t think so, Egypt has a submarine force but nothing like Dolphins and no nuclear tipped submarine launched missiles either.