There are some certain circles in Germany, including in this paper, with a Pavlovian reaction for anything that smells of the Israeli-Palestinian situation. It must be something about the German past and the glorification of the 68′ movement, that makes the Germans identify completely with the Palestinian struggle. One of the things that I really can’t stand is being dogmatic. By that I mean the tendency to fall into one’s default, no matter what are the circumstances.

Before I will get to the wall, I would like to write a line or two about the German past and the people I am writing about. This group of people are really ashamed of the past, and are fully regret what happened to Jews in this country, yet somehow this group fails to materialize on drawing a direct line between this past and the current situation in Israel.

By that I mean:… weiter lesen

I have much appreciation for the German movement and protest when it comes to nuclear questions. I mean I do have a problem with the violent nature of the protest, supported by the peaceful green party, violence that somehow undermines democracy, but I can understand the cause and the rage it leads to.

What puzzles me is the fact that none of this caring shows up when it has to do with a lunatic leader who threatens to wipe Israel of the map and inches every day toward his aim to obtain nuclear weapon.

Dear Mr. Sarrazin,

Yesterday I spent a day in Naumburg, writing a follow up about the trial of the 20-year-old from Laucha who attacked an Israeli kid after calling him “Jewish Pig”. Since most of the witnesses were underage we had a lot of breaks in the session. In one of those breaks I sat for an interview with Andreas Karl (Karl, like Karl Marx, he introduced himself), the head of the NPD party in Laucha.

Mr. Sarrazin I would like to let you know that in the NPD branch in Laucha you are a role model. They quote you and looking up to you, saying that you were always a progressive thinker. If you are looking for a group to lead, or just give a speech to a welcoming crowd (not this jelly liberals from Berlin), I have the contacts for you.

Mr. Sarrazin, I am really pissed with… weiter lesen

Warning: this is a very long post. It includes a little entry followed by a magazine article. Anyone who doesn’t have the patient can read the shorter version here.

A couple of months ago I read a news report about an attack of an Israeli teenager in the city of Laucha. The story grabbed my attention when I read about the family history of the victim: one of his grandfather was the only survivor of his family from the Holocaust, the other died in the attack of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich.

So I drove there and filed this unbelievable story for Haaretz. Then I called some local papers and offered the story for free, I just felt that it was my duty as a journalist and citizen to get the story to as many people as possible. Every paper refused my offer giving a… weiter lesen

There is a report in Today’s papers (http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/polizeibericht/article1297860/Kollwitzplatz-mit-Hakenkreuzen-beschmiert.html) about swastikas that were painted on tabletennis boards and stones around Kollowitzplatz on Saturday. This park is less than 50 meters from my daughter’s Kita, sometimes we go there to play, I play tabletennis with friends over there, and on Saturdays we like to go shoppin on the trendy market there. It is not in the former East anymore (well, technically yes), it is not Pankow, and it isn’t in a neighborhood riden by unemployment. It is right here, btween the asparagus and the swing, between the ice cream parlor and the flower stand. The cancer Germany never bothered to remove is spreading.

Here is what I have written about another incident, four months ago:

I was taking Maya to the Kita the other morning. We were riding the bicycle, both upset after our daily fight–Maya hates wearing the helmet. Anyway, we… weiter lesen

I will tell you a story here. I will write about the theme of this story in later posts, but for now I will only tell this story and maybe another one and then I would like to dive into the theme.

I met a friend of mine a few days ago. We ate, talked football, drank Diet Coke, talked about the marvel of Sling Box (the eighth and most important wonder of the world), and just when we were about to leave, he stopped me. “I am reading your post”, he said, “I must tell you a story”.

He told me that he was invited as a guest to a symposium conducted by a local politician in Mitte. He shared the stage with another ten speakers, sitting on chairs that together shaped the figure of a half moon. The moderator was sitting in the middle. There were around 200 people in… weiter lesen

Anyone who knows me or anyone who ever read me knows that the chance to see me marching in support of Israel is slimmer than the chance to see Ahmadinejad showing up for Shabbat prayer at the local synagogue, but sometimes you have to stand up.

I am talking about the polite and mannered United Kingdom. Whereas I completely support the UK recent criticism of Israel (if substantitated) of forging its citizens’ passports and using them for covert operation, it is hard to draw the line. The UK had in recent years led the charge of covert anti-Semitism disguised as criticism toward Israel.

I think that UK’s actions are anything but helpful. The threat to arrest Israeli politicians and former army officers, the boycott of products and the attempt to inforce an academic boycott, are reinforcing the feeling in Israel that “everyone is against us”, a feeling that demonstates itself everytime Israel… weiter lesen

A few days ago, a Rabbi who  is living in Berlin got a phone call. He was sitting in his favorite cafe, drinking freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and breathing deeply in the spring of Spring and the fact that his calender allowed him some 45 free minutes. We are talking about some one who is so busy he can match George Clooney’s miles on three separate airlines.

He picked up his blackberry even though it was a blocked number. The woman on the other side introduced herself as someone working for a local advertising agency. They had a good conversation that started when he found out that she went to an American college in the place where he was born in America. You have to assume from this fact that she is educated and someone who saw and exposed herself to different cultures.

After a while she told the Rabbi that… weiter lesen

On Sunday, in one of these days that the weather in Berlin, just like a girl before an important date, didn’t decide what it wants to look like. I was alone and went out to our balcony on the fourth floor, overlooking the flatness of Mitte. My neighbor was out smoking a cigarette. I apologized for any noises that our baby Maya was making in weird hours. He told me not to worry about it. I told him where I come from and so did he. I told him that my wife is German and works as a journalist. He told me that his wife is also a journalist working in PR. I swollowed my saliva. As a journalist, lately, we have to carry a lot of insults.

He told me that they read two newspapers every day, and about his brother who went to visit Israel only to meet people… weiter lesen