The Conflict As Seen by German Media
June 7, 2012 12:50 by GuestPostIn the wake of newly elected German President Joachim Gauck’s visit to Israel, this guest article was written exclusively for HonestReporting by Ulrich Sahm. Son of a well-known diplomat, Sahm was born in Bonn, Germany and grew up in London, Paris, Moscow and Ankara. Sahm came to Israel in 1970, first as a student and later as Middle East correspondent for various German media outlets and has lived in Jerusalem observing war and peace, uprisings and Israel’s hi-tech revolution.
The worst curse for a German is to call him “anti-Semite”. Yet nobody really knows what that is. Many claim that it is “forbidden” to criticize Israel. Those who “resist” by breaking this non-existent taboo, like the authors Günter Grass or Martin Walser, are considered “courageous heroes” but dislike being called anti-Semites because of the obvious undertones.
German media reflects the German mentality.
After World War II the Germans turned into blind pacifists. They were reluctant to join NATO forces in Serbia, Somalia and Afghanistan. They sent “reconstruction workers” or medical personnel. They do not admit that they would rather let their American and other friends do the dirty work fighting and getting killed, while protecting the Germans.
The lesson of WWII atrocities was not learnt from what the German Army had done to Russians or Poles. They rather experienced the “horrors of war” when their own cities were bombed. The British bombing of Dresden in fact is often called a “holocaust”.
Many Germans adhere to the Christian belief to have mercy for the weak. Before 1967, the majority sided with Israel. But that changed instantly when Israel was victorious and conquered “Arab Land”. In an Internet forum, a virulently anti-Israel activist wrote: “The moment the Palestinians defeat the Jews, I would immediately change sides.”
Germans feel guilt towards Jews because of the Holocaust. Therefore they feel a responsibility for Palestinians, as “victims of the victims”. Germans do not deny the Holocaust. They rather blame the Jews for shaming them. The Germans do not like to be reminded of that shame, e.g. when the Israeli Prime Minister warns of another “Holocaust” in case Iran should destroy Tel Aviv with an atom bomb. One often quoted formula says: “The Germans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz”.
Perfect as they are, the Germans have created the most efficient democracy in the world. Yet some do not forgive the Americans for forcing democracy on them after WWII. The left-wing revolution of the “young generation” in 1968 resulted in strong “anti-imperialist” feelings, which turned anti-American. While the Vietnam War raged, they sided with Ho Chi Min, Mao Tse Tung and even with the Soviet regime. In this framework sympathy grew with “freedom fighters” like Yasser Arafat and the PLO.
The greatest power in German media lies with the DPA, the German Press Agency. Many editors suffer from a disease called “Agenturgläubigkeit”, a blind belief in absolute truth of agency reports.
The so called “cottage cheese uprising” last summer in Israel was quickly compared to the Arab Spring, claiming that it was all about “illegal settlements in the occupied territories” and overthrowing the “right wing regime of Benjamin Netanyahu”. Needless to say, these were incorrect assumptions.
The Conflict As Seen by German Media | Blogs about Israel aggregation
1:02 pm
Jun 07, 2012
[...] Continued on Page 2 [...]
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Michael
3:43 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Brilliant. Did this article also appear in the German press?
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Gordon Strauss
4:46 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Nazism is alive and well in the German media.
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Adela
10:48 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Only in German media?????????
Once a nazi, always a nazi because they were intensely trained in their filthy industry of nazism, just as the arab muslim nazis have been and still are, trained from cradle to old age!
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Henry Federman
5:04 pm
Jun 07, 2012
You said pretty much what was on my mind,you forgot to mention about German Jews who went back to Germany after the war, are they a glutton for punishment? I was born in Europe,came here after the war,I escaped the nazis,you could not pay me to go back, I say let them rot in their own hell. Some Germans have decided to boycott Israeli products to help the ” Palestinians” we should boycott all German products from Volkswagen to Nivea cream, it might not help but it will give you a sense of satisfaction.
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Adela
11:10 pm
Jun 07, 2012
YES!!! LET US BOYCOTT GERMAN GOODS!!! Great idea!!! I’ve been doing it subconsciously ever since I learned of their filthy act!!!
I’m also, OF COURSE! boycotting anything that has the name arab, muslim, islamic, etc. There’s a muslim handyman in my building whom I gave a Ms. Wafa Sultan video, but persists against Israel. So I asked the person in charge to send me any of the handymen but not Aziz! And I ignore him when I see him anywhere! I SO hate the guts of these world’s cruel, hypocrite, anti Semites!!! I wish them/their loved ones the very worst!
“Harshness to the wicked is as mercy to the good.” Livyas Chein
“It is cruelty to the innocent not to punish the guilty” Unknow
Hot debate. What do you think?
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GoonerEll
3:11 pm
Jun 12, 2012
Adela – from this (and your other replies to this blog) you seem to have some extremely (and I use the word advisedly) over-developed anger issues and frankly unpalateable views of other human beings. I am a firm supporter of Israel, but refuse to stoop to the same hatred displayed by those who hate us so virulently.
I have news for you – just as you are clearly aware that not every Jew is an ardent Zionist, not every Muslim is an anti-semite and not every German is a Nazi.
If you refuse to acknowledge a man simply because his name is Aziz, you lose all right to lecture anyone about how tolerant they should be to Jews, Israel or anyone else. Shame on you.
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Adela
5:42 pm
Jun 12, 2012
TO GOONER-EII: First of all: “Harshness to the wicked is as mercy to the good.” by Livyas Chein
& “It is cruelty to the innocent not to punish the guilty.” by a Syrian Proverb.
What do you mean by “us” here: “I refuse to stoop to the same hatred displayed by those who hate us so virulently.”? Are you a German? A Muslim?
About this: “…not every Jew is an ardent Zionist, not every Muslim is an anti-semite and not every German is a Nazi.” There’s a huge difference bet. an “ardent Zionist” and a filthy self-hater jew! He/she doesn’t have to be even a simple Zionist to be a decent Jew!
As to my refusing to accept Aziz work, I already explained the reason in my previous post.
CONT’D….
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Adela
5:50 pm
Jun 12, 2012
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE: As to Muslims, of course they are all intensely trained to hate and murder Israel/Jews from cradle to old age and this doesn’t go away! BUT, decent Muslims who are very vocal/open as to the greatest injustice against Jews and Israel, I publish their works and praise them sincerely. As to Germans…they were also intensely trained, as Muslims, and yes, after decades of world’s shame on Germans they sort of learned. As to your answer to LUIS, yes, that can be reversed…but it also can be reversed again and again…depending on the world’s tendency. In this day and age, world’s tendency is towards NAZISM following the steps of the German Nazis and the Islamic Nazis.
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GoonerEll
6:14 pm
Jun 12, 2012
Adela – thanks for responding.
I should have made it clear, when I said “us”, I meant Jews – and Israel (because in this context I believe them to be the same i.e. those who say they hate Israel or “Zionists” actually mean they hate Jews).
And I refuse to accept your statements that Muslims are “all intensely trained to hate and murder Israel/Jews from cradle to old age”. This is simply a lie. Of course SOME are, but all? Seriously?
I am glad you admit that there is a spectrum between “ardent Zionist” and “self-hater”. Why can’t you recognise that there is also a spectrum of opinion in Germany and among Muslims? Why curse entire races/nationalities/religions like you do?
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Adela
6:14 pm
Jun 12, 2012
GOONER-EII, you said I’m “extremist” so I have no right to lecture others”??? You are depriving me of my USA Constitution’s First Amendment: Right of Speech. So here you demonstrate traces of Nazism already…or again! It’s time wasted to post here – those who are for the defense of Israel don’t need more thoughts. Those who are against Jews/Israel (especially the renegade traitor jews) are not going to change by reading posts here. It takes a lot of more interest in common sense, fairness, and reading from both sides.
Many people told me how they genuinely changed after reading my emails, how they had felt so involved in the BIG LIES from the muslims & muslim-influenced world! Bye…
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GoonerEll
7:12 pm
Jun 12, 2012
Adela – My point was that you complain about others being anti-semitic and yet you spout horrendous, completely unjustified views about entire nations/races/religions yourself. So what’s the difference between Hamas saying all Jews are evil and you saying all Muslims are “primitive cut throats” or all Germans are Nazis.
I clearly cannot take away your right to free speech (nor would I dream of trying, though I’m not American, so couldn’t give a damn about your blessed constitution) I am merely saying that with views like yours, you lose the MORAL right to criticize others for their equally repulsive opinions.
It’s clear how reasonable you are. I disagree with you – you call me a Nazi.
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Ernst Eichengruen
5:54 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Having observed German media very closely on this suject, I fully agree with Ulrich Dahm, who is a rare exception amongst German reporters in Israel. Most of them rely too uncritically on Palestinian sources, And they happily duplicate the press releases of some Israeli NGOs.
But the fault lies mostly with the editors: They give much more space and bigger headlines to negative reports than to those, which provide facts positive for Israel. For instance, the ill-famed Golsdstone Report was much praised. When later Goldstone had to eat his words, this went barely unnoticed,
The SPIEGEL and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung are the frontrunners of this kind of reporting and commenting.
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tavi
6:09 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Maybe Germany has not come to terms with what happened in World War II and is in self-denial.
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Arley Steinhour
6:51 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Those who ‘came to terms’ are now dying off and being buried. It is the Generations that never saw the disastrous results of World-War, that ‘will not come to terms,’ for what-ever reason. History has proven, we learn nothing from History, except how to point the accusing finger. The Bible describes these times we are in quite accurately, IMO. (The wheat and Tare, grow together, until the soon time of ‘Harvest’)
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LUIS FROM MEXICO
8:53 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Tavi…….we must admit that the German people are good fighters and they never give up (we can see this in their soccer games), so, they will never admit they were defeated in WW2 as they never admited their defeat in WW1. At one time or another, this force they have inside must surface and propaganda is their first battle line this days. Just as 70 years ago, this propaganda is directed against Jews, and Israel being a Jewish state, it goes also against Israel.
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LUIS FROM MEXICO
6:12 pm
Jun 07, 2012
I’ve heard several times that “A TIGER DOESN’T BECOME A VEGETARIAN”………and a nazi, or a descendant of nazis never becomes a Jew lover. The new Germans are either sons or greatsons of the Germans that saw Hitler as a God and it is in their blood to hate us Jews because we are keeping alive the horrors of the Holocaust, a national shame for them.
However, I met, and interviewed the grandaughter of one of Heinrich Himmler’s brother, and she is a brave woman who confronted the family and wrote a book called “THE HIMMLER BROTHERS”; and by the way…..she married an Israeli!!!
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Adela
11:29 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Most interesting Luis! (BTW I’m from Argentina)
You’re so right on the 2 examples: A tiger can’t survive on veggies but we humans are dying, and very sick, from eating the tigers’ food!
As to the Germans, of course, they are ALL nazis whether in the closet or openly because they’ve been so thoroughly trained in this horrific industry of nazism, as I just answered to Henry Federman above.
The few Germans who may sincerely reject nazism…don’t have to “love” Jews in order to show respect. Showing and PROVING respect towards Israel and us at all times (especially in the present time when we need this respect more than our daily bread), will give them the key to our hearts…
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Adam
4:54 pm
Jun 11, 2012
Dear Luis,
“A tiger does not become a vegetarian”? Is it so?
Those nazi “tigers” became vegetarians very fast in Russian, British and American captivities.
They were like pussycats when they had to deal with those who are stronger than them.
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GoonerEll
3:20 pm
Jun 12, 2012
Luis – your own example – of the grand-neice of Himmler – totally disproves your own racist statement about Germans being Nazis simply because (some of) their grandparents were. This is a simply outrageous and indefensible conclusion to draw. History, not to mention everyone’s personal experience, shows that individuals’ and society’s views have the potential to exactly reverse within a very short space of time, let alone 70 years.
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Richard Fryer
7:22 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Who really gives a damn what the Germans think? We don’t need their allegiance, pity, sympathy, guilt, duplicity, anger or anything else. We should all be proud of everything we’ve achieved since they tried to annihilate us all.
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Adela
11:34 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Kudos to you Richard Fryer! Thumbs up!!!!!!!!
Thanks to the magnificent physical and moral strength of Israel, we can actually see clearly that Israel doesn’t need nazis to help! i think there’s only one kind of people worse than nazis…..the renegade, traitor jews who are siding with the palestinians!!!
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Ludwig
8:32 pm
Jun 07, 2012
It sounds like the German media and the US media are on the same page. Question; which one is the teacher?
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LUIS FROM MEXICO
9:05 pm
Jun 07, 2012
I just read an article with pictures of the German national soccer tean visitin the Aushwitz camp. They really look sad for what they saw there……….Not all germans are bad, after all!!!
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00hanni
4:22 pm
Jun 08, 2012
You have to be very careful with these generalisations.The problem in Germany is not that they are all nazis and that they are all against the Jews. I am German and I have been brought up to remember and never forget and prevent the horrors of the nazi regime and holocaust. Every kid in school learns about it several times, there are plenty of documentaries about the Holocaust on the TV all the time, memorial places, museums,… There has been an overexposure to some degree that has resulted in an emotional numbness in the Germans because they can’t cope with facing this shame constantly. I totally agree with the article though. The German mainstream way of thinking is very very wrong
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Adam
5:02 pm
Jun 11, 2012
They become good after receiving a good trashing. That’s for sure!
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bernard
9:45 pm
Jun 07, 2012
I really value Ulrich’s articles and work for a long time. However, as it is with all of this generalized considerations, there are too much commonplace assertions on people in this piece. This doesn’t mean that it’s totally wrong, no, most I do would underline, for example the deliberatly provoked “accident” of the Noble Laureat Grass. And even recognized newspapers as the Süddeutsche Zeitung (remembers me sometimes as the Stürmer reloaded) have become massive anti-Israel in their coverage (would never print this). Ulrich’s article is partly misleading on individual Germans and their attitudes in regard to Yewish people. As a member of a German-Yewish family I know what I’m speaking of.
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arnold goldstein
11:23 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Based on history the world (with certain exceptions) hates the Jews. I & my family would never buy anything made in germany. I have strongly recommended that Israel not sell any Health discoveries to non-jews. Let them suffer intheir hatred of the Jews. Also, Israeli hospitals & medical centers should not treat non-jews but should send them to GERMANY.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Nathan Zafran
11:55 pm
Jun 07, 2012
Thr Germans were the ultra-butchers of WWll, but remember! The Wansee Conference, which decided in 1942, within TWO HOURS, to eliminate the Jews, instead of deporting them to the East, did so after they realized that ALL the Europeans didn’t give a damn about the fate of the Jews. Even the US denied them shelter! European hostility to Israel is just a means to “cleanse” themselves of the guilty complex, of having accepted German atrocities and in MANY cases having actively participated in them. The hostile media is part of the attempted cleansing process.
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sharon gordon
1:39 am
Jun 08, 2012
You think German or British propaganda about Israel is bad? You should see the Spanish propaganda press!! It was so bad during the government of Zapatero that the present government have had to deliberately tone it down. Most people in Spain think that Israel (and of course Jews) are monsters on a level worse than nazis or apartheid. Never ever having met a Jew ( as you all know; the Jews in Spain were either killed off or forced to leave 500 years ago and Spanish jews are still almost ‘in hiding’.) As a British Jew (loud and proud) I get into arguement with IGNORANT people who feel ‘intelligent’ because they can read a newspaper and give (regurgitate) an opinion.
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Adela
6:13 am
Jun 08, 2012
Those brainless, consciousless liberals, should be packed and sent to “live” (exist would be more proper term) among those primitive cut throats and only then will they see the great difference between them and Israel and the rest of us! I wish them all and their loved ones the worst possible (and impossible) suffering and deaths!
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sharon gordon
1:41 am
Jun 08, 2012
Come on Honest Reporting; please challenge the Spanish press!!!
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The Conflict As Seen By German Media
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Jun 08, 2012
[...] June 7, 2012 ORIGINAL Source: By: Guest Post Honest Reporting [...]
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The Conflict As Seen by German Media | HonestReporting « igatherum
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Jun 08, 2012
[...] Conflict As Seen by German Media | HonestReporting The Conflict As Seen by German Media | HonestReporting. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
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The Conflict As Seen by German Media | The Conservative Papers
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Jun 09, 2012
[...] Continued on Page 2 VN:F [1.9.17_1161]calculating…Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)topsyWidgetPreload({ "url": "http%3A%2F%2Fconservativepapers.com%2Fnews%2F2012%2F06%2F08%2Fthe-conflict-as-seen-by-german-media%2F", "style": "big", "title": "The Conflict As Seen by German Media #Freedom #Germany #Holocaust #HonestReporting #Iran #Islam #Israel #Jihad #Nuclear Weapons #Palestinians #Racism #Terrorism" }); [...]
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Adam
4:40 pm
Jun 11, 2012
Germans should learn more about their own history. Many Germans lived in ancient Judea and served in the Judean Army. And Germany developed a plan to establish a Jewish State in October 1917. The Kaiser Wilhelm II traveled to Istanbul and Jerusalem to start the implementation of that plan. The Balfour Declaration was only a response to the German plan to establish a Jewish State.
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Adela
6:51 pm
Jun 11, 2012
<>
TO ADAM: May I know where you saw this??? I haven’t seen it anywhere. I’m interested to know the source where you got it please? Thanks.
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Adela
6:54 pm
Jun 11, 2012
(I’m sorry don’t know why my quote didn’t appear above. Trying again):
“Germans should learn more about their own history. Many Germans lived in ancient Judea and served in the Judean Army. And Germany developed a plan to establish a Jewish State in October 1917. The Kaiser Wilhelm II traveled to Istanbul and Jerusalem to start the implementation of that plan. The Balfour Declaration was only a response to the German plan to establish a Jewish State.”
TO ADAM: May I know where you saw this??? I haven’t seen it anywhere. I’m interested to know the source where you got it please? Thanks.
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Adam
12:23 am
Jun 12, 2012
Adele.
Google:
Herod’s Judea:A Mediterranean State in the Classical World by Samuel Rocca
Chapter III
The Army of King Herod
Google: The Tomb of King Herod the Great. Germans and French (Gauls) gave King Herod last honor 2011 years ago.
Google: The complete works of Flavius Josephus
War of the Jews, book 1, chapter 33 scroll to 9 : “…next to which came his (Herod) guards and the regiment of Thracians, the Germans and Gauls…”
It’s a well known historical fact that thousands of Germans served in the Judean army and the best of them were King Herod’s bodyguards.
Today’s Germans should be ashamed of themselves. Their ancestors were much smarter than them.
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