by Kelly K
On August 8th German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a ban on Germany selling weapons to Israel. To people in the know about the situation on the ground in Palestine, it was too little and too late and only further proved that the West could have stopped the ethnic cleansing and genocide playing out on our phone screens from happening. But at home, Merz’s most extreme critics have compared him to the Nazis for this announcement. The Washington Post highlighted that, “even if it stops short of a full arms embargo, Friday’s decision is a big policy shift for Germany, given its relationship with Israel, which is shaped by historical guilt over the Holocaust.”
The first time a German lawmaker was invited to speak to the Knesset (Israel’s lawmaking body, voted in by the country’s Jewish residents and the small percentage of Arabic speakers still allowed to live within its 1948 borders), there was a mass walkout because he was speaking German. Never mind that they mostly could understand German or that he didn’t know how to speak Hebrew—German was inherently bad. Relations did not stay that frosty forever. European Parliament president Schultz drew protests in 2014 for a mostly pro-Israel speech (also in German) where he talked about speaking to West Bankers and noted that an Israeli uses 4 times as much water as a Palestinian, but this time only the most committed settler party MKs walked out. Incidents like these have historically been followed by members of the German government profusely apologizing, all too aware of their parents’ and grandparents’ responsibility for the 1940s genocide. It’s human nature, and politicians are also pressured to keep friendly relations with as many people as possible so their elites don’t lose out on lucrative business deals, customers, and workforces. But almost a century of German Guilt can’t be more important than saving Palestinian lives now.
The Times of Israel blog posted commentary on recent remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stating that he is on a “historic and spiritual mission” and feels a “connection to the vision of Greater Israel.” Maps of Greater Israel vary depending on who’s drawing, but Israeli right-wingers have long dreamed of ruling lands as far away as Iran, western Egypt, and Yemen, as well as neighbors Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Leaks to the press reveal that Israel is talking to the government of South Sudan (which is in the midst of a civil war) about taking displaced Palestinians as part of its broader campaign of ethnic cleansing. Such reports draw comparisons to the world’s most bloodthirsty dictators, painting a dark picture for everyone who lives nearby. The more that countries speak up, the more Israelis will realize their class interest is with Arab workers. There will be backlash against the politicians and nations who are brave enough to speak directly about the atrocities, but it has to be done.