An American Jewish - German Information & Opinion Newsletter

1. AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION
NEWSLETTER
dubowdigest@optonline.net
AMERICAN EDITION
April 10, 2012
Dear Friends:
I hope you are enjoying Passover. I trust that during the Seder the message of
freedom came across clearly, especially to young people. For those of you who
celebrated Easter I sincerely hope it was uplifting.
What a great time of year! The Seder offered me an opportunity to see my family,
family friends and eat all that matzoth stuff that I love. In addition, it has remained
warm and so the threat of winter snow has passed over (pun intended). To make it
even more perfect the basketball team of my alma mater, the University of Kentucky,
won the national NCAA championship. I think I’ve mentioned this before, however it
bears repeating. My mother used to say, “Everybody is entitled to one “Mishagas” (a
craziness)” Mine is UK basketball. If you didn’t know that about me before, now you
do!
This edition is long. The poem of Günter Grass, so critical of Israel, engendered a
great deal of press commentary in the U.S., Israel and Germany. It merited a lot of
coverage.
So, without further delay, let’s get on with the news…
GÜNTER GRASS
One of the most beloved icons of German culture these days is Günter Grass.
Unfortunately he has become an outspoken enemy of Israel though he claims to be
a friend. As Petra Marquardt in The Jerusalem Post noted:
“In an awkward, cliché-laden “poem,” German Nobel laureate Günter Grass has
announced to the world that he had to break his silence about an issue that has
burdened him for too long: even at the risk of being labeled an anti-Semite, he
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2. simply had to sound the alarm about the terrible threat to world peace posed by
Israel…
There is already a huge outcry against Grass’s strange poem, and many of the
responses refer to the last time Grass broke a very long silence – and also caused a
huge outcry: In August 2006, shortly before the publication of his autobiography,
Grass revealed in an interview that he had served in the Waffen SS.
Below you will find some of the criticism that appeared.
Spiegel On-Line reported, “Günter Grass, Germany's most famous living author and
the 1999 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, sparked outrage in Germany on
Wednesday with the publication of a poem, "What must be said," in which he sharply
criticizes Israel's policies on Iran.
"Why did I wait until now at this advanced age and with the last bit of ink to say: The
nuclear power Israel is endangering a world peace that is already fragile?" Grass
writes in the poem. The 84 year old also criticizes the planned delivery of
submarines "from my country" to Israel, a reference to Germany's plan to deliver
Dolphin-class submarines to Israel that are capable of carrying nuclear-armed
missiles. At the same time, Grass also expresses his solidarity with Israel.
In the poem, published by Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and other
European dailies on Wednesday, Grass also calls for an "unhindered and
permanent monitoring of Israel's nuclear potential and Iran's nuclear facility through
an international entity that the government of both countries would approve." It is
widely believed that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, although it has never been
proven.
In response to the publication, the Israeli Embassy in Berlin issued a statement
offering its own version of "What must be said." "What must be said is that it is a
European tradition to accuse the Jews before the Passover festival of ritual murder,"
the statement reads. "Earlier, it was Christian children whose blood the Jews
allegedly used to make their unleavened bread, but today it is the Iranian people
that the Jewish state allegedly wants to annihilate. What also must be said is that
Israel is the only state in the world whose right to exist is openly doubted. That was
true on the day of its founding and it remains true today. We want to live in peace
with our neighbors in the region. And we are not prepared to assume the role that
Günter Grass is trying to assign to us as part of the German people's efforts to come
to terms with the past."
The Central Council of Jews in Germany has called the poem an "aggressive
pamphlet of agitation." Ruprecht Polenz, the chair of the German parliament's
Foreign Affairs Committee and a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's
Christian Democrats, told the daily Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that, while Grass is a
literary great, "he has difficulties whenever he comments on politics and is often
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3. wrong." Polenz's CDU colleague Philipp Missfelder said "the poem is tasteless,
ahistorical and demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the situation in the Middle
East."
Henryk Broder, a journalist at the newspaper who is the country's most prominent
Jewish writer. The Berlin-based polemicist, who himself is famous for his outspoken
views, attacks Grass in an editorial. "Grass always had a problem with Jews, but it
has never articulated it as clearly as he has in this 'poem'."
He writes that "Grass has always had a tendency toward megalomania, but this time
he is completely nuts."
Grass, Broder writes, "is the prototype of the educated anti-Semite, who is well-
meaning when it comes to Jews. Haunted by feelings of guilt and shame and also
driven by the desire to settle history, he is now attempting to disarm the 'cause of
the recognizable threat.'"
There is much more to Broder’s reply which you can read by clicking here.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,825712,00.html
David Harris of AJC chipped in with, “Grass pulled the wool over the eyes of the
German people and the world for 60 years, hiding his participation in the Waffen SS.
Now he is trying to pull the wool over the world’s eyes about an Iranian regime that
threatens to destroy Israel, and is building the capability to achieve its aim,” said
AJC Executive Director David Harris.
“Which country – democratic Israel or authoritarian, bellicose Iran – is the real
menace to regional and world peace? It is Iran that has called for a world without
Israel, not the other way around,” said Harris. “Why can’t Grass see what is so
painfully obvious?”
In his poem, Grass charges that “Israel’s nuclear power endangers world peace,”
and claims that Germany, due to the Holocaust, refrains from criticizing Israel.
“Grass already has a published record of hostile positions on Israel,” said Harris.
“The new Grass poem confirms that his thinking is inverted. He has reversed the
aggressor and the intended victim. In doing so, he is totally out of step with his own
country, and most of the world, when it comes to Iran’s nuclear program and
designs on Israel.”
The poem, by the overly self-importance and puffed-up ego of the morally
questionable Günter Grass should be criticized in the strongest possible terms.
However, the poem itself and the articles surrounding it (even those that are critical
of Grass) have appeal for those in Germany that market themselves as “peace
loving” but have underlying feelings of hostility for Israel and for Jews.
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4. However, it is not the “anti” people that I am worried about. There is a strong feeling
of pacifism in Germany in the general population as well as affection for Grass.
Being opposed to Israel because of the Palestinian issue and now because of a
possible Israeli strike against Iran does not help in strengthening support for the
Jewish state. Not a happy thought during the Easter season when love for Jews is
frequently at an all time low. No matter! What will happen politically will happen!
However, when something so vile appears, especially from a person with a soiled
past, outspoken criticism is the appropriate course.
You should also read another commentary in Spiegel On-Line by Sebastian
Hammelehle. Click here to read it.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,825818,00.html
THE GRASS RETORT
You may be “Grassed out” by now but in the interest of fairness you should know
what Günter Grass said after he and his poem received the criticism it did,
History tells us that once you’ve written and published something – it’s yours! You
may wish you’d never put it out there but something written and published is
indelible. It’s there for good. You may want to retract it but it’s too late. You may
want to say you were misunderstood and maybe you were. However, why didn’t you
think about how it might be taken before you put it down in black and white? If all
else fails – blame the media. A time honored political dodge. It’s equal in
untruthfulness as, “I’m leaving office to spend more time with my family”.
The Local.de reports, “Grass, a longtime leftist activist, said in separate interviews
that the media had piled on him without understanding his message and although he
found the personal accusations against him "hurtful," he had no plans to back down.
"The tenor throughout is, 'don't focus at all on the content of the poem' but rather,
conduct a campaign against me and claim that my reputation is now damaged for all
time," Grass told public broadcaster NDR.
"I have noticed that in a democratic country with press freedom that people are
expected to toe the line and that there is a refusal to address the content and the
questions I raise here."
Grass said he was particularly stung by the widespread accusations of anti-
Semitism against him in the German media.
"That is quite hurtful and not worthy of a democratic press," he said. In a separate
interview with public broadcaster 3sat, he said he was being "pilloried" but had "no
plans to recant" what he said in the poem.
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5. He acknowledged however that it would have been better not to speak of Israel but
rather "the current government of Israel", he said, according to excerpts released by
the channel.
He said a closer reader of the poem "would recognise my concern about the future
of this country which has a right to exist."
In addition, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported, “Günter Grass appears hurt by the
massive condemnation of his poem. He said he feels that the German press has
denounced him. Its position on Israel is monolithic and there is no objective debate,
he said. He had predicted the knee-jerk accusations of anti-Semitism, the writer said
told the public broadcaster NDR.
"Old clichés are applied. As expected, the term 'anti-Semitism' is put to immediate
use," Grass said.
In his literary work he extensively confronted the German past, the 1999 Nobel Prize
winner said in his own defense in an interview with radio station 3sat.
"In my books 'The Tin Drum' and 'Peeling the Onion' I bring the burden of my
generation, the confrontation with the German responsibility for atrocities, forward to
the present day," he said. "And that's why this accusation of anti-Semitism is hateful
venom, without parallel."
Grass said he made an error by referring to Israel generally in his poem and not
specifically the Israeli government. He added that he feels sympathy for the country,
while expressing concern about its development. A preemptive strike against Iran
could cause a nuclear disaster, even World War III, the 84-year-old said.
"This is not just a small military action. As if it a couple of missiles could be fired with
only a few deaths, as Barak and Netanyahu claimed," Grass said. "This is a military
action that will have consequences. The situation is getting worse. The danger is
increasing that it will come to acts of war that will then further escalate."
Grass remained firm in his criticism of the German government. He said Berlin pays
"dishonest reparations" by delivering and partly financing submarines to Israel.
Three of these subs are already in operation and two more are to follow later this
year. In March 2012 an agreement was reached to provide a sixth submarine, one-
third of which will be paid for by Germany. These submarines can be equipped with
conventional torpedoes, but also with nuclear warheads. Grass said that means
Germany is "drawn into sharing responsibility."
Grass warned against unilateral Israeli action and the growing isolation of the
country in diplomatic circles.
"Until now, after the experience of the Second World War, we tried hard - even with
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6. rogue states - to use diplomatic means," Grass said. "These attempts are currently
also being made with the Israeli government. This high-handedness, to decide for
themselves, no matter what others say, is a break with the hitherto successful tactic:
As long as we are talking, we are not shooting."
Grass said he sees it as a duty to stand by Israel, even as a critic. Israel cannot be
spared criticism; this would be "cowardice before a friend" - here the author employs
a Cold War-era quotation from former Chancellor Willy Brandt.
I think that’s enough for you so that you can make up your own mind in deciding
about what Günter Grass truly believes. What he wrote is there to be read. It won’t
go away.
THE SAARLAND ELECTION
State elections in Germany have a much greater impact on the national scene than
they do in the U.S. Recently the smallest of the states, Saarland, held one when the
government collapsed after internal bickering.
Spiegel On-Line reported, “Angela Merkel's conservatives won Sunday's state
elections in Saarland by a surprisingly large margin. But the Free Democrats, their
junior coalition partner in Berlin, were resoundingly punished by voters, securing just
over 1 percent of the vote. The real winners were the upstart Pirate Party, who will
now enter the state parliament after getting over 7 percent.
Many observers had expected that the result would be yet another expression of
voter frustration with the national government of Angela Merkel's center-right CDU,
its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the business-friendly Free
Democratic Party.
But in the end, the CDU won a surprisingly clear victory, gaining 35.2 percent of the
vote, according to preliminary official results, a gain of 0.7 percentage points over
the last election in 2009. The incumbent state governor, Annegret Kramp-
Karrenbauer, will continue in her position.
The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) came second with 30.6 percent, a
gain of six percentage points from 2009, when they got 24.5 percent.
Kramp-Karrenbauer announced on Sunday evening that she would quickly begin
negotiations with the SPD to form a so-called "grand" coalition government.
On Sunday, voters punished the FDP, who received just 1.2 percent of the vote,
falling far short of the 5 percent hurdle that is necessary to get seats in the state
parliament. The result represents a major collapse of support for the party, which got
9.2 percent in the 2009 Saarland election
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7. The real winner of Sunday's election was Germany's newest political force, the
Pirate Party, which campaigns for political transparency and Internet freedom. They
won 7.4 percent of the vote, despite having had to rush to cobble together a
campaign after snap elections were called. They will now be represented in the 51-
seat state parliament with four seats.
No doubt that Chancellor Merkel is breathing a little easier with a CDU victory
though her natural coalition partner, the FDP (Free Democrats), was practically
erased. More and more it’s looking like she is planning on a 2013 national “Grand”
coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD), her natural competition. However, there
is still a long way to go. What’s the implication for those interested in German –
Jewish/Israel matters? Well, Chancellor Merkel is about as a good a friend as Israel
has had in Germany in a long time. Would an SPD Chancellor be as strong on
Israel’s important issues? Maybe, but it would certainly be a question. Perhaps it is
better that it is not answered.
ARE THE PIRATES FOR REAL? (NOT THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES!)
If you read the item above, you know that the new Pirate Party got 7.4% of the
Saarland vote and four seats in the state parliament. So, the question is, “Are they
for real?” “Can they be some sort of a national force?”
The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung reported, "These Pirates, who owe some of
their image to their racy name, have now established themselves in provincial
Saarland following their grandiose success in big city Berlin. Until recently, they
didn't even have political platforms. Ahead of the general election, the other parties
can now safely assume that the success of the Pirates is more than just hype. The
Pirate Party evidently satisfies a trusting, impartial, heartfelt, grassroots desire for
politics. This desire has become alien to an increasingly frumpy and jaded FDP, and
the Greens have lost this desire in the daily grind of parliamentary politics. Everyday
politics will catch up with the Pirates too at some stage, but it hasn't yet."
The business daily Financial Times Deutschland wrote: "The significance of this
election for national politics shouldn't be overestimated. But it does offer some
interesting insights. The Pirates are continuing to seize fresh territory. They have
proven for the first time that they can capture more than a big metropolis, and can
also appeal to voters in the gentrified provinces. The newcomers will remain a force
to be reckoned with in the upcoming state elections.
Baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates have had 19 consecutive losing seasons. Their
German namesakes seem to be starting out life on a distinctly different footing. I’ve
looked and asked about the Pirate Party’s program. I haven’t gotten any satisfactory
answers. A Russian news website RT (Russia Today) at least reported something
that made some sense. It noted, “Many people do not know where to put us, what
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8. we really are,” the party’s political leader, Marina Weisband, explains. “But many
people say: ‘You're something new and we like that’, because many Germans
believe that politics are rusty at this time.”
As the big players struggle with the key economic and political issues, the Pirate
Party does not even have an official stance on the eurozone crisis or on the Arab
Spring. Nevertheless, it continues gathering supporters – a mere coincidence or an
alarming signal for mainstream politicians?
The Free Democrats Party, which is Angela Merkel's federal coalition partner, was
the first to feel the voters’ change of heart, losing that Berlin vote along with another
five local votes across the country.
“Mainstream politics are losing attractiveness, because there's often too little
distinction between different parties from different fields or areas,” Dr. Leonhard
Dobusch, a researcher at the Free University of Berlin, explains. “Sometimes it's
difficult to see the difference between conservatives and social democrats.”
Experts say the Pirate Party's key success tool is the Internet. They see it as the
new driving force, changing politics much in the manner that TV did over half a
century ago.
Observers of Germany’s disillusioned electorate believe that unless the mainstream
parties adapt and change their tactics, it may not be too long before they become
the ones sitting on the margins.
So, where the Pirate Party stands on the various issues still remains a mystery. Not
a word yet about Israel, the Palestinians, Iran or any issue of international
importance. The amazing thing, of course, is that many people are willing to vote for
them knowing that their issues agenda is a blank page.
One coincidence though. One of my closest friends in Israel, Howie Weisband, a
dyed in the wool Pittsburgh Pirate fan and the Pirate Party leader Marina Weisband
share a last name. So far Marina is 2-0 and Howie is 0-19. I’ll probably hear from
him about this.
Incidentally, (actually not so incidentally), Marina is Jewish (So is Howie). According
to Wikipedia “Marina Weisband grew up in Kiev. In 1994 she and her family moved
to Wuppertal in Germany as Kontingentflüchtlinge (literally "Quota refugees"—these
are foreigners admitted to Germany on humanitarian or compassionate grounds.
Most Kontingentflüchtlinge from the former Soviet Union are Jewish.) She finished
school in 2006 and studied psychology at the University of Münster. She describes
herself as a devout Jew and lives in Münster.
Who knows? Maybe someday Germany will have a Jewish woman Chancellor.
Could happen!
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9. GERMANS: EAST & WEST
Back in the 1980’s when I started visiting Germany I was able to bring an AJC group
to East Germany (DDR) and emanating from that I established a relationship with
the Jewish community in East Berlin. I traveled a bit in the DDR and was struck by
the physical differences between East and West Germany. It seemed that the former
had hardly recovered from World War II. Many buildings still needed extensive
repair. Since the DDR was relatively poor and paint was expensive, most were grey
and unpainted. The people seemed compliant and accepting of their government
and economic situation. Certainly, no one was starving.
The Berlin Wall came down in 1989 and so ended communist rule. The people in the
West were heavily taxed for the rebuilding of the East (roads, a new telephone
system, transportation, etc.) and today, on the surface I find that it is difficult to tell
East from West. The physical rebuilding, the opening of stores, etc. is really quite
amazing considering it’s only been a little over 22 years.
Much has changed and, as DW points out, “For the first time ever, both Germany's
chancellor and president are from the former East Germany. But otherwise, German
society has been dominated by western German elites – is a sea change at hand?
What do US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have
in common? They both belong to minorities. The most powerful man in the world is
the first black head-of-state in a white-majority country, while the most powerful
woman in Europe is the first eastern German head-of-government in a western
German-dominated Germany.
And just as black-white relations have changed very little in the US since Obama's
election in 2008, so too the relationship between eastern and western Germans has
barely altered since the start of Merkel's chancellorship in 2005.
By the same token, the election of Joachim Gauck - raised in the communist GDR -
to the German presidency is unlikely to change much either. Having two East
Germans in the two highest political offices in the country is one thing, but the reality
of life and the perceptions of the people who live in the former East Germany is very
different.
One glance at the statistics shows how slowly the situation has changed, both
subjectively and objectively. Unemployment in eastern Germany is, at 12 percent,
nearly twice as high as in the west (6.9 percent). The big economic differences have
only deepened since the early 1990s.
There is still a huge income gap between East and West, some 22 years after
German reunification. Those living in the land between the Baltic coast and the
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10. Czech Republic receive only around 85 percent of the salary of those living between
Hamburg and Munich.
"On the other hand, the pension level in eastern Germany has now reached nearly
89 percent of the West," the government said with a note of pride in its annual report
on the "status of German unity 2011." But many of those affected still feel a sense of
injustice.
This disappointment regularly emerges in opinion polls. Since the mid-1990s,
around two-thirds of people living in eastern Germany have consistently complained
of a sense of social injustice. As many as 42 percent still feel like second-class
citizens, a figure that has not changed since the beginning of Angela Merkel's
chancellorship in 2005.
The conclusion after 22 years of reunification is as clear as it is sobering: former
East Germans don't get into elite positions. Chancellor Merkel and President Gauck
are little more than exceptions to the rule. In light of the importance of their offices,
of course, they are very significant exceptions, but that shouldn't lead to false
conclusions. They have not made the country any more East German than it was.
The “disappointment” has, as one might expect, led to the rise of a populist,
nationalistic feeling among some of the youth who do not feel they have much of a
chance to move ahead economically. The neo-Nazi movement is especially strong in
the East where the neo-Nazi Party NPD has representatives in two state
legislatures. There is a movement now, since a few the NPD members seem to have
some connection to a string of murders of immigrants, to outlaw the NPD. I fear that
such a move would only drive them underground and that might even be worse.
No matter how that turns out the problem of having “two” Germanys is a genuine
concern. The Germans are working on it and we will continue to watch it.
BARAK, THE SUBS & GERMANY
In late March Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak came to Berlin to sign a purchase
agreement for the securing of the 6th Super Dolphin Submarine from Germany.
The Jerusalem Post reported, “The signing ceremony with Barak for the contract to
purchase a sixth Super Dolphin submarine for Israel's navy took place at the
country's embassy and represents the crowning achievement of German-Israeli
military cooperation. The advanced Dolphin possesses a second-strike nuclear
weapons capability.
Philipp Missfelder, the Christian Union Democratic deputy and foreign spokesman
for Chancellor Angela Merkel's party in the Bundestag, told The Jerusalem Post on
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11. Thursday, "We stand strongly on the side of Israel. The military cooperation shows
that Israel has a special status."
"We cannot merely make nice speeches if we do not cooperate with Israel militarily.
If Israel is in danger, Germany should stand by its side. It is right to advocate that
the military option remain. I support defensive military supplies to Israel," he
continued.
Israel Hayom reported, “Israel already has three Dolphin submarines from Germany
— one half-funded and two entirely funded by Berlin — and two more are currently
under construction.
Germany’s Parliament approved the purchase in November and agreed to pay
some 135 million euros ($180 million) of the costs — about one-third of the
submarine’s price.
Barak said in a statement the submarine will “substantially increase the capabilities
and the strength of ... Israel in the face of ever-increasing challenges.”
Sources in Israel have said the deal has implications for the country’s strategic and
security considerations.
According to foreign press reports, Israel’s submarines are armed with long-range
cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. If Israel were attacked with
nuclear weapons, these submarines would give Israel secondary response
capabilities.
The Dolphins can also be used to gather intelligence from distant places when great
secrecy is required. They possess a variety of other operational capabilities as well.”
I have said many times before (but I’ll repeat it) the subs are absolutely critical for
Israel’s defense. Capable of carrying nuclear weapons and lying submerged within
firing range of Iran, they give considerable credence to “second response capability”.
Interestingly, German Defense Minister De Maiziere had previously talked about his
“opposition to a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Nonetheless,
Barak may have secured more military cooperation from Germany than was voiced
in de Maiziere's anti-strike comments.
”In sharp contrast to de Maiziere's remarks, a Tuesday article in the Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung, also known as FAZ, lends additional evidence that Barak has
convinced the Germans to fulfill aspects of their pledge to champion Israel's
security. The FAZ piece noted that the Merkel administration will "immediately"
support Israel and provide rocket-defense systems and specialized personnel if
requested by Israel in order to bolster its defenses during a conflict with Iran.
11

12. The Jerusalem Post article continued, “While de Maiziere said at a joint meeting on
Tuesday in Berlin that "a military escalation would bring incalculable risks for Israel
and the region, to the detriment of Israel," the meetings among German ministries
spoke a somewhat different language.
The FAZ noted that the German defense ministry, foreign ministry and chancellor's
office met to determine the meaning of Chancellor Merkel's statement about Israel's
security interests being integral to German interests. According to the newspaper,
the German government will "immediately" show support for Israel's defense
measures.
Concretely, the Merkel administration will supply Israel with Patriot rocket systems,
mobile defense devices and technical personnel. The article also said that
Germany's government would not expect additional military requests from Israel.
I don’t have much more to add. Who knows what really went on behind closed
doors? And, who knows that if and when the “chips were down” and Israel is in a
shooting conflict with Iran, what Germany could and would do? The odds are even
longer especially if there is a change of government and Chancellor Merkel is
replaced.
I hope we’ll never have to get to that point..
GERMAN RAIL, THE HOLOCAUST & WASHINGTON LOBBYING
This is one for the lawyers. The German rail system, Deutsche Bahn, has hired both
a lobbying and a law firm to safeguard it from possible lawsuits emanating and left
over from the Holocaust.
DW reported, “According to documents filed with US authorities and reviewed by
DW, Deutsche Bahn late last year hired a strategic communications group and a law
firm to advise and represent the company in its dealings with members of Congress
and US government agencies.
Deutsche Bahn’s lobbying efforts are related to the Holocaust Rail Justice Act which
was introduced in the US Senate and the House of Representatives on March 17,
2011.
The goal of the two identical bills, which specifically mention France’s national
railway SNCF, is to enable Holocaust victims to file suits regarding the deportation
by trains to Nazi concentration camps before US courts.
There is disagreement among experts as to the scope of the bill in question. A
lawyer lobbying for the Holocaust Rail Justice Act argues that the bill would apply
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13. only to SNCF.
Richard Weisberg, a law professor and founding director of the Holocaust and
Human Rights Studies program at Cardozo Law School at New York’s Yeshiva
University disagrees:
"The bill seems to reference specifically the SNCF, but when you get to heart of it
it’s fairly clear that it could apply to other European railroads," he told DW.
Morris Ratner, an associate-professor elect at U.C. Hastings College of the Law in
San Francisco, is one of the attorneys who prosecuted Holocaust-era claims against
German entities, participated in the negotiation of and was a signatory to the
agreements resulting in the creation of the German Foundation agreement.
He argues that the scope of the bill extends beyond SNCF, but that Deutsche Bahn
wouldn’t be affected by it:
"The bill is not country-specific," Ratner told DW per e-mail. "So it is not limited to
SNCF."
But, adds Ratner, "German entities are protected from Holocaust-era suits by the
German Foundation Agreement, which recognizes that the German Foundation
Agreement resolves all such claims involving German entities."
Deutsche Bahn, it appears, doesn’t want to take any chances and has hired two
New York firms to lobby on its behalf.
On December 13, 2011 Deutsche Bahn signed a three-month contract with New
York-based communications group Strategy XXI Partners to "develop a
Communications Plan related to Holocaust asset issues."
On December 19, 2011, New York-based White & Case law firm confirmed in an e-
mail sent to Deutsche Bahn’s Berlin headquarters "that we have opened a separate
billing number relating to potential meetings with members of the U.S. Congress
and/or U.S. government agencies on potential legislation regarding World War II-
related issues".
There’s a lot more to the story which, if you are an attorney or just someone
interested in Holocaust compensation, you’ll want to read all the details. What
amazes me is that after all these years the legal questions surrounding the
Holocaust are not yet settled. I guess the enormity of the crime is such that it leaves
all sorts of questions, legal and otherwise, open for discussion and some sort of
conclusion. Perhaps it will never end.
You can access the article by clicking here.
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14. http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15838460,00.html
ISRAEL, IRAN & GERMAN YOUTH
In the last edition of DuBow Digest I reported on the fact that the head of the Social
Democratic Party (SPD), Sigmar Gabriel referred to Israel as an “apartheid regime”
bringing into question where the SPD stood on the Israel – Iran issue.
It looks as if the youngsters in the Party don’t quite go along with Gabriel’s kind of
thinking. Benjamin Weinthal reporting in The Jerusalem Post notes, “ While
Germany’s social democratic leader and chancellor hopeful Sigmar Gabriel recently
termed Israel an ‘Apartheid regime’ during his visit to Hebron, the Berlin youth
chapter of the left-liberal party, Jusos, broke ranks with, according to their
comments, the anti-Israeli hostility of the party’s leadership.
The Jusos passed, arguably, the most pro-Israel resolution in the history of the
Federal Republic on Sunday at their party conference and their officials have voiced
unconditional solidarity with the Jewish state in the major media.
‘If Iran continues to work on a nuclear weapon, we are arguing for a preventive
attack,’ said the Berlin Jusos chairman Kevin Kühnert in the Munich-based
Süddeutsche Zeitung. The roughly 4,000 members of the Berlin Jusos are under the
age of 35. The organization serves as both a platform to cultivate future leadership
and as an idea factory.
Fabian Weissbarth, the 24-year-old deputy representative of Jusos Berlin, told me
on Thursday via telephone, that the resolution serves to jumpstart ‘a discussion
within the party’ about support for Israel. When asked why Jusos Berlin launched
the resolution, he said there has been a culture of ‘criticizing anti-Zionism and anti-
Americanism’ within the youth group. As an example, he cited the Jusos decision in
2006 to defend Israel’s right to counterattack Hezbollah rocket attacks.
In sharp contrast to a kind of naïve pacificism of most of Germany’s political
establishment, including the defense and foreign affairs ministers, the Jusos Berlin
section has redefined the debate about what constitutes meaningful solidarity with
Israel. The decision to retain the military option conforms with the positions of the
Dutch, British, US, and Israeli governments.
Is there a generation gap unfolding in terms of supporting Israel’s security in
Germany? It may be too early to know.
What we do know is this: There has been no shortage of theoretical and abstract
support for Israel in Germany. It is rather the concrete, practical support where the
gaps—or better put, large holes—exist.
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15. As if to fill these gaps, the most recent Jusos resolution on Israel states, “Our self-
concept: Solidarity with Israel, theoretical and practical.” Will Jusos (and the Junge
Union (Ed. Note: Part of the CDU) influence a radical change in the behavior of
German political and civil society?
Let’s hope that the kids will be taken seriously.
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