- Anti-Semitism -

In Germany, the so-called "anti-Semitism debate" is being carried out which, among other things, deals with the "special relation" ("Sonderverh?ltnis", Fischer) between Germany and Israel and the Jews. As became obvious, we have a general agreement, called the "basic consent" ("Grundkonsens"), saying that Germany has a major guilt in respect to the Jews and therefore the Germans have a responsibility to make sure that in this country nothing is publically said or done that is anti-Jewish, anti-Zionist, or anti-Israeli. The war, the Holocaust, and national socialism would be relativated, if the Jews or the Israelis were treated with too little respect.

Of course Sharon can be criticized, dreams an excited Jan Phillip Reemtsma in the FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU today, and this is actually done by the majority. But. Of course the Palestinians are human beings. But. One really has to ask oneself why there is no State of Palestine by now after all this time, if the world indeed agrees on it. Who then is retarding? Is it really the evil HAMAS activists, is it really the Palestinian terrorists who spoil it? We have to be patient, comforts Herr Fischer and says that there will be a progress in the Palestine issue in July or in August, at the latest in September. While at the place of the action the tanks are rolling on. Of course Sharon may be criticized, Herr Reemtsma is right here, if he adds: as long as everything remains the same. The problem is here: if somebody is anti-Sharon, they of course are anti-Israel in that, insofar as 70 to 90 per cent of the Israelis have voted for this man and are supporting him now. Insofar as. It is also anti-Jewish, insofar as a major part of the Jews in the world are sympathizing with Sharon's policy and identify with it. This holds also for the Jewish community in Germany where you can often find conservative and Israeli nationalist talk, as you can easily see e.g. in in-group-forums like Hagalil. "There will be no single settlement removed!" and "I knew before people would speak Arabic here" and "The evil evil Arafat" is what you hear there. A Jewish businessman, who is deserted by his international customers because of Sharon's policy, writes an angy open letter about the guilt of the Palestinians and receives applause and respect. This man in the eyes of his in-group is marching in the holy struggle against anti-Semitism, against the anti-Jewish tendency. But of course, Herr Reemtsma, Sharon is criticized by the majority.

Anti-Arabism on the other hand is no swear word. To be against Islam is not so much taboo. You can get quite high with it in our society. This is a completely different case from anti-Israelism. Here the "right" and the "left" exceptionally are of one opinion: none of them wants to get under the suspicion of being a nazi. The nazis, these had even in former times always been the others, the extra-terrestrians. And to give proof that they and their party, the SPD, CDU/CSU, FDP, PDS, the greens, have nothing to do with the nazis they all say that they are not on for an anti-Israeli policy. Not against the Jews again! Let nobody have the opportunity to make me the projection area for the guilt of the nazis and thus identify me as a nazi. The fact that the dogma of the "No anti-Israeli policy with our party!" is immediately anti-Palastinian can be dealt with more easily in politics, considering the historical barriers which the politicians can convey to the outside in a credible way.

- Anti-Arabism -

Due to the decade-long delaying strategy of the UN and the West in respect to the human right of the Palestinians it had not been visible for all that they had been principally prejudiced. Now, however, after that there is no more legitimate reason to deny the Palestinians their state and now that it is the Israelis (not only Likud), who are trying with all possible means to prevent it from happening, the question of the quick creation of Palestine becomes the clearly formulated question of trust addressed to the Western World: Do you want the human right or do you want the special relation right? For what the Western World is saying these days is that the Palestinians are - in view of the horrors of the Holocaust - no human beings, not so quickly, at any rate, and surely not as much as the Israelis! And for the reason that nobody suffered like the Jews the suffering of the Palestinians is more readily regarded to be victim rhetorics than that of the undisputed and therefore exemplary world masters of suffering.

Nobody can be surprised that in different social areas men and women are raising their voices to struggle against the double measure. Not against the Jews or the Israelis. The Jews and the Israelis are not always in the center, some people are simply concerned with the measure. It cannot by denied that there are people who say: we will by no way tolerate an anti-Arabism or anti-Islamism in order to cover an "anti-Semitism" which is feared and suspected to be latently existant in the population, or in order to block up the discourse. Sadly, both exist, "anti-Semites" (in quotation marks, because the word is wrong. Arabs are also Semites.) and anti-Arabs.

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