General

Right to exist for a Free Palestine!


by Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, Sicht vom Hochblauen, 03/05/2017, English Translation by
Milena Rampoldi, ProMosaik.
Once again  Netanyahu has terrifically
succeeded in distracting from Zionist crimes when he kept the public in
suspense  by announcing his refusal to
meet German foreign minister
Gabriel. Nobody speaks about the crimes human rights
groups have exposed in the “Jewish State”. And foreign minister Gabriel was absolutely
right when he decided to meet them. 
While the
media were full of articles about Netanyahu and Gabriel, the hunger strike
started on 17 April with an actual participation of about 1800 Palestinian
detainees got lost. The Palestinian detainees protest against the actual
practices of the „Jewish State“ like solitary confinement, torture,
mistreatments, negligences in medical aid, the refusal of internationally
guaranteed rights, including the right to a fair trial. Many of these hunger
striking detainees were transferred to solitary confinement. And they are
deprived from their right to be visited by their families and to get in touch
with their lawyers. “
Currently the state of
Israel holds more than 7150 Palestinian political prisoners of which approximately
6300 are male political prisoners, 300 male children and approximately 56
females (including 13 female children) as well as an estimated 500 Palestinians
in administrative detention (including 2 children), held for indefinite periods
without charge or trial.Israeli military courts in which Palestinians are tried
have a
99.7% conviction rate.”(Source: ECCP).
According to Amnesty International these court proceedings for Palestinians do
not meet international standards for fair trial.
Another matter for the media would be the following:
Just on the Holocaust commemoration day and at the beginning of the celebration
of
Yom Ha’atzmaut, the Day of
Independence and the 69th year of the „Jewish Apartheid State“ and the
celebration of Yom Hazikaron, the commemoration day for the killed IDF soldiers
and the (Jewish!) victims of terrorism, the construction of 15.000 new
residential units in illegally occupied Jerusalem was announced, and because of
these „celebrations“ the Palestinians territories were closed down. Of course, you
have to fear protests when  you have
loaded so much guilt onto yourself as the „Jewish Occupation State“ did! (2)
Between the Holocaust Commemoration Day, days before
the celebrations of the soldiers‘ commemoration day and the coming 69th
Independence Day, the world only speaks about the sensitivities of a prime
minister, juggling between corruption charges and right-wing politics.
It is indeed appalling  that Germany still applies special standards
when criticism against the „Jewish State“ is at stake! This philosemitic action
is an anti-Semite crime ostracizing Jewish citizens by considering them as
„special“. In this vision, Jews are always seen as victims because of the Nazi
past and are never seen as perpetrators. And we have to counter this  misguided policy!
After a 50-year occupation of Palestine and 70 years
after the Nakba we must not remain silent any more in front of this injustice!
It is about a „second guilt“ we are loading onto us!
The antidemocratic Transparency Law adopted last
summer by the Netanyahu regime against human rights groups like B`Tselem,
Breaking the Silence and Zochrot opposes to messengers of unbeloved truth. As
we already know there is nothing Zionists fear more than the truth.
In fact, the truth about the violations against human
rights committed by the „Jewish Defence Forces“ are so horrifying that for the
government it would be difficult to bear, if they became public. „Breaking the
Silence“ was founded in 2004 by former ID soldiers to reveal the numerous
violations and crimes committed by the IDF in the illegally occupied
Palestinian territories. Hatred struck against them when in 2009 after brutal
testimonies about the attacks against Gaza a smear campaign of an incredible
degree was started.
In the meantime, the „settlers‘ king“ and „Minister of
Education“ in the „Jewish State“, Naftali Bennett, the Minister of „Justice“
Ayelet Shaked, and the Minister of Culture Miri Regev, began their war against this
NGO by using all means. This organisation was banned from the schools. They
were denied to access to all institutions of the army. They are insulted as “moles“,
runner-down of
their own country
“, and as „traitors“ paid with foreign money to
defame the „Jewish State“. However, this law 
only affects „left-wing“ organizations helped by foreign aid, while
right-wing organizations like „Im Tirtzu“ openly offer financial support to
murderous Israeli soldiers and their families, and start hatred and smear
campaigns against the liberal NGOs, and make fascism fashionable in
Israel. (3)
Gabriel did the typical things a foreign minister
does: a meeting with human rights groups, an important factor in Israel because
they are a light in the fascist and Zionist obscurity. On his/her journey to
Israel, every German politician should not just obligatorily visit Yad Vashem,
the Holocaust memorial, but should also recognize the reality of the illegal
occupation of Palestine and openly talk about and criticize it.
Netanyahu staged such a domestic show to strengthen
his power among corruption affairs and political rivals. So he used every mean
to stage a scandal. And then he piled the fire up with the accusation that
Gabriel had just met with the „enemies of Israel“ one day after the Holocaust
memorial day. And so the worm was turned! Gabriel answered that on journeys
abroad it was a good democratic practice to meet with critical organizations.
And in this case, he knew that not just Chancellor Merkel was there to support
him.
It is about time to start a rethink in German policy.
The Holocaust memorial day should give a clear signal to allow crimes against
humanity „never again“.
Since years, indeed decades, the German foreign policy
has omitted to behave „normally“ when it was about criticising Israel. And this
criticism should be obligatory if a “Jewish State”  defining itself the “only” democracy in the
Middle East, commits illegal occupation, ethnic cleansing, and judaisation. I
am really curious how the future visit to Israel by President Steinmeier will
be. It is well-known that Steinmeier has a particularly good relationship with
the Jewish friends. Both parties repeat all the time how “special”  their relation is. And this is exactly the
reason why President Steinmeier should have his doubts about this democracy.
Chancellor Merkel expressed her solidarity with the
Israeli aggressions, because they were conducted for “self-defence”, and she
ordered to include the security of Israel into the German reason of state. And
up to now, she has been talking about the mantra of the “two-state-solution”.
When Chancellor Merkel cancelled the governmental
consultations with the Israeli cabinet, primarily because of timetabling
reasons during the election year, even if, as it was expressed by governmental
circles in Berlin, it was more because of the continuous settlement politics
violating international law, Netanyahu had to find a tit-for-tat response. And
there was no better chance than targeting German foreign minister Gabriel.
How long can and will the German government  continue this „special“ relationship to the
“Jewish Apartheid State”?
In fact, in Israel people fear that Germany could stop
its unlimited blind support to Israel. However, this would be an important step
to achieve a “normal” relationship.
Unfortunately, this pipe dream seems to me more than ulikely.
The Netanyahu regime still tries to instrumentalize the Holocaust for its own
interests. And this still works out in Germany. The Israel lobby and the
Central Council of Jews in Germany still instrumentalise Anti-Semitism for
their interest, and start targeted campaigns to detract from the Israeli
occupation crimes. In German policy for too long it has been accepted that in
the meantime also in Germany this lobby work has assumed alarming shapes by
denigrating all critics of Israel.
If in the “storming” battle organ of the Central
Council of Jews in Germany, the newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine, which
declares that the “ethics of the preventive attack” as Jewish tradition is admissible
as preventive self-defence strategy, then this Judaist ethics is all-day life
in the “Jewish State”. In the meantime, the Netanyahu regime does not even
conceal from military attacks against sovereign states like Syria, Lebanon, or
wherever, and the hypocrite community of values accepts it… what to say about
this “Jewish ethics” of the “11th Comandment”: Israel is allowed to
do everything“! (4) (4a)
Therefore we have to oppose to the Israelisation of
Germany!
The President of the Central Council of Jews in
Germany has just said in an interview: “The new anti-Semitism is the
anti-Semite Israel criticism”. In addition, there is the blow against Muslim immigrants
carrying the gene of “Muslim anti-Semitism”. And so the Zionist poison soup is
cooked. Schuster could not help but support the Israeli policy of Netanyahu in
Germany when he accused Gabriel for not having met the organizations suggested
by the Netanyahu regime.
Why all what comes from Jewish organizations is
accepted without any critics? When will a representative of the government ask
the Central Council or other lobby organisations the right questions? When will
these representatives distance themselves from the illegal occupation policy of
the “Jewish State”? Why are Jewish citizens treated differently from others? If
German Turks engage for Erdogan, then all fill with indignation, but if German
Jewish citizens, who have only a German passport, engage for Netanyahu, this is
accepted without any criticism, or considered as normal because of their past.
How can it be that young German Jews want to engage as volunteers in the
“Jewish Defence Forces” to openly fight there, and to stabilise the illegal
occupation or to attack sovereign states declared as “enemies”? Please note
that it is about German citizens acting this way. If this does not raise
questions? I was surprised when the former “Bundeswehr Professor” Wolffsohn in
an interview attacked the Bundeswehr for being right-wing, after the abolition
of the compulsory military service and when he explained how before his assignment
he was asked about his contacts with communists, but not about his voluntary
service in the IDF; finally, it would have been a logical questions to check
his loyalty towards the German State. However, what is normal in these
relationships?
Is it normal that a German minister of Interior writes
10 points for a German leading culture, by using the slogan: “We are not the
Burka”, by asking for strange things, like shaking hands, open face, and of
course, the commitment to the “special” relationship and to the existence right
of Israel. This minister of Interior is a very heavy charge for all democrats
in Germany, and has very few supporters, like the CDU talk show speaker Bosbach
and the CDU number two Klöckner…
However, it seems to me that this more than
embarrassing and inadequate advance is just a deviation manoeuvre from the
right-wing trends in the Bundeswehr and the incredible case of the German
Bundeswehr wing commander Franco A. who impersonated a Syrian refugees without
any knowledge of the Arabic language. (5)
After all these mishaps and embarrassing incidents in
the Bundeswehr, the German “war minister” Ursula von der Leyen should draw the
conclusions …
When German President Steinmeier sees democracy in
danger, and calls the Germans for more engagement, he should ask himself what
democracy means to him and what is dangerous to democracy. Do the arbitrary
actions of the Chancellor in all issues like the reason of state for the
security of Israel, the existence right for a state without borders, the
obstruction of the right for freedom of expression are democratic, when it is
about the criticism against the “Jewish State” and 80 events like conferences,
meeting, and expositions are cancelled or hampered by the municipalities or by
Church institutions, when they critically deal with the Palestinian policy of
the “Jewish State” or when the words occupation and BDS support are mentioned?
Is this a democracy? It is alarming when 72 years after the liberation of
Auschwitz, also Jewish speakers are denied to speak. If this is not
anti-Semitism! Weapon sales and presents to the “Jewish State”, always new
military operations for the Bundeswehr, the arbitrary refugee policy, visa
freedom for the Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia, while Turkey has been
stalled for decades with wrong promises. The claim for a German role as leader
in Europe, under the leadership of a EU commission and a President who had been
involved into a tax avoidance scandal in Luxembourg, a EU, which has become a
luxury retreat of broken down politicians, the massive financial aid to Greece,
the support of banks at charge of the tax payers, the training of German
soldiers in Israel, the training of Saudi soldiers in Germany, a more than
questionable anti-terror alliance, refugee deals of questionable kind, abolition
of the compulsory military service, energy revolution, foreign policy according
to despotic ruling, domestic policy at charge of Muslims, and leading culture
ideas of the most anti-democratic type, all this decided in an arbitrary way,
without asking us with a popular referendum. Yes, Mr Steinmeier, this creates
democratic frustration, and does not promote democracy.
Therefore, I would like to conclude the present
article with a quotation from the Jewish sociologist Judith Butler who
expresses so well what impresses me and what I support from the deepest of my
heart:
Butler opposes to the equation between Jewishness and
Zionism to declare the anti-Zionist resistance as Jewish obligation:
“So, though one needs to contest the hegemonic control
Zionism exercises over Jewishness, one needs, equally, to contest the colonial
subjugation Zionism has implied for the Palestinian people.”
The “dismantling of political Zionism” is the
prerequisite for coexistence. A new post-Zionist era could be the basis for a
time after the occupation – and for Butler, not just Gaza and the West Bank are
considered as occupied, but whole Israel because she considers also the
foundation of the State of Israel as illegal.
In the end, I would like to accentuate that I will
recognise only the existence right for a Free Palestine on an equal footing,
for all its citizens, ethnical groups, and religions. And for what concerns
this point, I fully agree with the new Hamas Charter. (6)