EXB 172

ANTISEMITISM
Are you saying it has to do with how rarely such incidents take place? I
say that an attack on a Jew is much more newsworthy than, say, an attack
on a Muslim wearing a headscarf. This happens a hundred times a
day in Berlin, but it is seen as normal. No fuss is made about it. A verbal
or physical assault against a Sinto or a Roma who is called a dirty gypsy
doesn’t trigger a response. We are extremely sensitive to antisemitism
and this alarm is kept alive by activists, politicians and the media.
Which is good.
So you don’t think there is a similar taboo when it comes to other cultural
or religious minorities? I don’t really see that at the moment. There is
no great fear of criticising Muslims and being called an Islamophobe.
We now have a party in our parliament which clearly defines itself as
Islamophobic. It’s written in their programme.
The fact that the Prenzlauer Berg attacker was a Syrian refugee has
fuelled talk of a new quality of antisemitism brought to Germany by
Muslim migrants. CSU Interior Minister Horst Seehofer refers to a rise in
so-called “imported crimes”. What do you think? There is no such thing
as a “new” antisemitism. It’s always the same old thing working with
the same old resentment. This kind of talk is aimed against refugees.
Before the refugees arrived, we were perfectly complacent in pointing
the finger at Poland where anti-Judaism is openly justified with
religious arguments, mixed with Polish nationalism. Now we have the
Muslims and presume that they are dyed-in-the-wool antisemites.
Meanwhile our own cryptic antisemitism stops being an issue. We cry
“Stop thief!” and think the problem lies elsewhere, not with us. Now
Muslims are blamed for antisemitism, end of story.
Would you agree with Felix Klein – Germany’s new Commissioner of
Antisemitism – that some newcomers bring with them their background
of “unacceptable perceptions of Jews and Israel”? I am obviously aware
that there are many Muslims who, out of solidarity with Israel’s Arab
neighbours, display anti-Israeli resentment and of course there are
actual antisemites, too. But these people have not come to Germany
to spread antisemitism. That wouldn’t have been necessary anyway
because we have enough of that here already. But they came as refugees
and their resentment of Israel is something they share with many
Germans. The difference is that Germans don’t usually express it because
they know that here that can ruin careers. But those people say
it, and for us and our Interior Minister who doesn’t seem to be a big
fan of refugees, it’s a good opportunity to fuel animosity against them.
The yellow press has been wallowing in the confusion. Bild asked their
reporters to hang Israeli flags in so-called problem areas of several German
cities to see how long it would take until someone took them down.
Their footage of two youths taking away a flag on Hermannplatz (and
unsuccessfully attempting to burn it) was supposed to be evidence of
Muslim antisemitism. Taking down Israeli flags in the street does not
make you antisemitic. Those who make that claim are doing very poor
journalism. Some media try to provoke the things they want to happen
and write about and use that to stir up resentments. Many people are
not aware that criticising Israel is not the same as being an antisemite.
Stats show that 95 percent of hate crimes against Jews (92 percent in
Berlin) are still perpetrated by the same old rightwingers, not newcomers.
Do you think that the focus on Muslim perpetrators has somehow
overshadowed the real problem? What we have now are new political
formations such as AfD and Pegida who have made hatred against
Muslims their programme. They hide their own antisemitism behind
their Islamophobia. There is a lot of antisemitism there too and it is
voiced clearly in the AfD groups in state parliaments and the Bundestag.
The most prominent example is Wolfgang Gedeon [who has
called Islam Christian culture’s enemy from outside, and Judaism the
one from within]. He was expelled from the AfD group in the Baden-
Württemberg parliament, but not excluded from the party.
But what about antisemitism in German society at large? Here we get to
a topic that is much more relevant: The Echo music award. This prize
for creative achievement is given to two men who not only act in an
antisemitic fashion but also in a shockingly, nauseatingly misogynist
way and who insult other minorities as well. Because of their huge
success, these people who poison hundreds of thousands of young
souls with their hateful lyrics are put on a podium and given awards.
Taking down Israeli flags
in the street does not make
you antisemitic. Those who
make that claim are doing
very poor journalism.
VOLKSBÜHNE
Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Gisèle Vienne
MENGE
13.06.18
14.06.18
15.06.18
Boris Charmatz
enfant
21.06.18
22.06.18
23.06.18
Mette Ingvartsen
7 Pleasures
27.06.18
to come (extended)
9
29.06.18 Foto/Photo: enfant, © Christophe Raynaud de Lage