Fake friction between Germany and Israel

 

No amount of groveling is enough to satisfy Israel.

Steffen Seibert, Germany’s ambassador in Tel Aviv, ought to know.

A few days ago, Seibert declared his sadness at what he called a “violent settler rampage in Palestinian villages.” Soon after making that comment, he was accused by Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, of an “obsession with Jews living in Judea and Samaria.”

Saar managed to pack quite a lot of deception into his brief outburst.

The term “Judea and Samaria” is itself deceptive as it implies that the Bible lends legitimacy to Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and all its attendant brutality.

The idea that Seibert harbors an “obsession” about settlers in the West Bank and their thuggery is deceptive, too. The ambassador generally portrays Israel – the state building the settlements in the West Bank – as a victim, rather than a perpetrator of violence.

Saar concluded his rant by saying it is “good to know a new ambassador will soon arrive – one who will strengthen Israel-Germany relations.”

The inference that those relations had weakened during Seibert’s stint in Tel Aviv is similarly deceptive.

Seibert has held his current post since 2022. On his watch, Germany has been the second largest weapons exporter to Israel; the US is at number one.

By definition, then, Germany is the second largest enabler of Israel’s crimes against humanity, including the Gaza genocide. If that is what happens when relations are supposed to be strained, imagine how much worse things could be if Germany and Israel sang in perfect harmony.  (more...)

Fake friction between Germany and Israel