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A prominent German-Palestinian has told The National he expects "nothing good" for Middle East policy when a new government takes office in Berlin.
Nazih Musharbash said major parties were outbidding each other to "show the most loyalty to Israel" before Germany's general election on February 23. He said in an interview that an atmosphere in which criticism of Israel is equated with anti-Semitism had only worsened in the past year.
I come back to my fear that many people will become distanced from democracy
Mr Musharbash, the president of the German-Palestinian Society, said he will remain a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) because he does not want Middle East policy alone to dictate his vote. But he warned others may turn their backs on major parties and "become disconnected from democracy".
He criticised the German parliament's adoption on Thursday of a new agenda for tackling anti-Jewish hatred in universities that backs a contested definition of anti-Semitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The 13-point plan says universities should be encouraged to use their "full legal options" in suspending or expelling students.
Such resolutions "make the whole thing harder" by "not distinguishing between anti-Semitism and criticism of Israel", he said. "That's what really drives me nuts."
He was also unimpressed by German politicians who responded to the fall of Bashar Al Assad's regime in Syria by swiftly floating the return of refugees to the country when it is "not certain what things will be like" there. "What do I expect from German Middle East policy? Honestly nothing good, I’m sorry."
Loyalty tests
Successive governments in Berlin have described Israel's security as a "reason of state" for Germany, drawing on its history as the nation that perpetrated the Holocaust. Germany is Israel's second-biggest arms supplier behind the United States and has not ceded to demands to ban weapons exports, although it says it has cut them back since the early stages of the war in Gaza.
Germany's Christian Democrats (CDU), who opinion polls have as the likely leaders of the next government, say in their manifesto it is in Germany's interest to "stand firmly by the side" of Israel. They propose that recognising Israel's right to exist should become a requirement for German citizenship.
Mr Scholz's SPD and its Green party coalition partners both describe Israel's right to exist as "non-negotiable" while also warning about the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling second, says Germany's main interests are preventing a wider conflict and further mass migration to Europe.
"What I want from Germany's Middle East policy is an objective view, and not a blind loyalty to the current Israeli government of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his far-right and religious allies", said Mr Musharbash, who was born in Bethlehem but has lived in Germany for almost six decades.
Using an alternative definition of anti-Semitism known as the Jerusalem Declaration would mean "fully accepting Germany's special responsibility towards Jews and Judaism – with no ifs or buts, truly – but leaving out Israel's policies", Mr Musharbash said. The declaration says that opposing Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank, including with boycotts, is not in itself anti-Semitic.
The war in Gaza led to a historic loss of support for the UK's Labour Party among a traditionally loyal Muslim voter base even as it won power in a landslide in last year's general election. US President Donald Trump also benefitted from disaffection with his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden among Arab-American communities in November's presidential race.
In Germany no major party is running on an overtly pro-Palestinian platform and minor candidates tend to fall short of the 5 per cent minimum to win seats in parliament. The German-Palestinian Society will provide information to its members on the party platforms but is not endorsing any party.
"I am still a member of the SPD. I would have had enough reasons to leave the SPD if I was just looking at Middle East policy, but I am a citizen of this country and I see other things as priorities as well," Mr Musharbash said. "If I were to leave the party I would no longer be able or have the right to speak to the people that I want to reach.
"Of course there are others who do it differently. That is a well-known phenomenon and it’s not much different in Germany. That’s where I come back to my fear that many people will become distanced from democracy because of this view, and will be prompted to vote for other parties that I don’t want to vote for."
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