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German-Jewish publisher: "Europe plays an important role in the effort to deny the Jewish character of Israel" | Israel Today

2021-12-20T17:06:51.507Z


Dr. Raphael Korntscher, founder of the weekly "Yudisha Rondshaw", does not hesitate to express a counter-opinion on burning issues • "Europe has an important role in efforts to deny the Jewish character of Israel", he tells "Israel Today" • "We will soon have a very Will be influenced by Islam "


It is not easy to be a Jew and support Israel in today's Germany.

The German establishment, with its many affiliates, has worked hard in recent years to convince German Jews - and especially the official leadership of the community, that it is better to keep - at least outwardly - away from Israel and engage in rapprochement with "new Germans", immigrant communities from Arab countries and Islam. This is in an attempt to calm the hostility and violence on the part of these communities towards Jews. This is Germany's way of fighting anti-Semitism: forcing the Jews to appease their aggressors and renounce the Jewish state. Many funds are directed to this purpose.

Dr. Raphael Kornzker is one of the loudest opponents of this approach, and is therefore considered by its supporters and disseminators to be the "bad boy" of the Jewish community. In his education, a businessman and real estate professional - seven years ago the magazine "Yudisha Rondshau" ("Jewish Review"), designed to create an ideological balance for the Jewish community weekly "Yudisha Algemeina" in the monthly and other media German towards Israel and in relation to German Jewry. Therefore, he is accused, of course, of being an extreme right-wing man.

Kornetscher, 73, was born after World War II to Holocaust survivor parents in the city of Wolbrich (Waldenburg) in the western part of contemporary Poland. His mother was hidden by Polish villagers throughout the war. His father survived the war in the front zone between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, moving from one hiding place to another. His parents' families were annihilated by the Germans in the death camps. However, in 1960, a year before the Berlin Wall was built, the parents decided to move to West Berlin. Raphael the boy saw the Berlin Wall being built from the window of his new family apartment in the Wooding district of north Berlin, where he grew up. German became his everyday language. He successfully completed his studies at the school and then at the university - where he first studied chemistry and then medicine. From an early age he began political activity against anti-Semitism and for Israel. He was one of the leaders of the Jewish Student Organization, and later active in the ranks of the Jewish community in the city divided under the mythological leadership of Heinz Glinsky, in the "Assembly of Representatives"Of the Main Committee for German Jews - the body representing the affairs of the Jewish community and a number of other community and public bodies, until it decided to create in its personal capital an independent platform of expression.

You were born in Poland.

You are probably following the "history quarrel" between Israel and Poland.

What do you think about it?

"My opinion is that the extremists on both sides won. There is no doubt that Poland was not only a victim of the Germans. There are also many stories of injustice on the part of Poles. The Poles were victims of the Nazis, but that did not stop some of them from becoming criminals. "In view of the conflict that has developed and gained momentum over time, I think it was possible to calm the spirits and prevent escalation. Relations between Poland and Israel were good. I am very sorry for what happened."

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

How could this conflict have been prevented?

Is there another possibility for dialogue between the two sides?

"I put a lot of thought into it and did not find possible solutions. The Poles feel that the Israelis are blaming them unjustly. The Israelis know very well that there were also murderers on the Polish side. Both sides know what happened historically. Both sides want sensitive treatment from the other side. The parties, it is very difficult to flex positions. History cannot be changed. And there are also the problems in relations between Poland and the European Union. This fact should not be exploited against Poland. Especially since the European Union is the one that is very anti-Israeli. "Poland to the corner. If they continue to escalate the situation, the gaps between the parties will only widen."

Should Israel develop a different foreign policy towards European countries than it has had so far, which has been largely based on the precipitation of history?

"This is an interesting question, especially in relation to Israel's dealings with Western countries such as Germany and France. France had very extensive cooperation with the Nazis. The Germans were, as is well known, the ones who initiated the Holocaust. They are active in the EU and they are not pro-Israel. Condemn Israel at the UN, along with the French and others.

The Jewish communities in these countries are threatened.

Victor Urban's Hungary, on the other hand, defends Israel in the European Union.

In Hungary, with the seemingly antisemitic Victor Urban, Jews with religious symbols and Israeli tourists with Israeli symbols roam free without any need for police protection.

Here in Germany, the new Jewish life - which is so often talked about - is conducted only under police security.

Event in support of "Alternative to Germany", in 2019, Photo: AP

"Israel may need to take these facts into account in shaping its foreign policy. A little more pragmatism in this context will not hurt Israel, with all the importance of awareness of history. I will be the last to forget for a second what happened here. , And not necessarily among the right-wing party 'Alternative for Germany'. History must never be repressed. It is impossible to develop political awareness without historical awareness. As individuals and as a country. But one must know when to show flexibility and when not to adopt tolerance for what is happening. On the mantra 'Never again', and immediately afterwards former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas flew to discuss with other European foreign ministers how to circumvent US sanctions on Iran, to help Iranian clerics who deny the Holocaust and prepare a new Holocaust. So officially and explicitly say what they want to do.And we do not hear them? "German policy is far from being what German history requires."

Do not the EU today understand the importance of Israel more than in the past?

"No. Maybe I see blacks. But I have a feeling that there is a deterioration. And the big problem is that Israel itself has started to distance itself from Israel. Israel is increasingly abandoning the values ​​that allowed its establishment and existence. Israel is the only Western country in a very non-Western environment. Twice in history - not talked about. Twice in history Europeans repulsed an Islamic invasion - in the time of Carl Martel in the eighth century and in the days of Polish King Johan Sowiecski, who pushed the Ottomans out of Vienna. But then there were wars that could be won. Today we experience The collapse of the Roman Empire.This occurrence cannot be dealt with militarily.

Bundestag, Photo: Reuters

"We are not prepared to defend ourselves and our values, not because we can not do so, but because we do not want to. The Europeans do not think it is important to protect their values, nor the Jews. Without Jews the West would not become what it is today. All progress The technical was always carried out with Jewish participation. There could be no education without the participation of the Jews. We fought for this participation. We did not receive it as a gift. We experienced persecution upon persecution, so that we reach free Europe. And now, we are told that multiculturalism is wonderful. It is inconsistent with Islam with which we are supposed to develop multiculturalism. Muslims demand tolerance towards them as long as they are in the minority. Like in their time Christians in Europe. As long as they were a minority, they were tolerant. Once they came to power they changed their skin. "The intellectuals in Israel, as here in Europe, believe that it is not modern to defend our values. This decadence can be seen everywhere."

This decadence in Israel is very much supported by Europe - a lot of money is flowing from governments, organizations, funds, to create this situation.

"Absolutely. Europe has an important role to play in efforts to deny Israel's Jewish character. Israel should become a state like all other states, without ethnic-national values. The fact that Israel is supposed to serve as a place of refuge for Jews is sold everywhere as apartheid. But if it is an apartheid state, Arab or Muslim refugees from Israel? Refugees come to us from Syria, Afghanistan, North Africa - almost all of them Muslims. But Muslims do not flee Israel. If it was such a terrible apartheid state, they would have had to flee en masse. On the other hand, some Jews lived in North Africa , In Iran and Turkey and how many of them remained? Even if I supported the two-state solution, and I do not support it, I would ask why the future Palestinian state should be 'Judenrein' (free from Jews, Nazi term - AB)? Why is the Gaza Strip already free of Jews, while the Arabs in Israel live in complete welfare? The Arabs are sitting in the Knesset and the government, but the Palestinian state will be established without Jews.Hitler's dream is supposed to come true there, and the Germans think it's a great idea and applaud. What an irony of history. "

Former Chancellor Merkel,

If so, what does it mean to say that Israel is part of Germany's supreme national interest?

"This is a verbal bubble. Of course, the Germans will say: Wait, we are sending submarines to Israel. But one thing is certain: Israel's security is not a fundamental issue for the Germans. It is not part of the supreme national interest. The Germans contributed much to Israel in some areas, but also refused Others.I remember the Yom Kippur War, in which the Germans refused to allow the American air train to Israel to land on their territory.This was a critical time for Israel.

"It is not possible to say about the former Chancellor, Angela Merkel, that she did not contribute to the cooperation between the two countries. On the other hand, she continued the policy of conciliation with the Islamic states in the UN institutions at the expense of Israel. She did nothing against this policy. Nor did all its foreign ministers act against it. Among them was the current President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who traveled to visit Israel and bowed his head in front of Yasser Arafat's grave in Ramallah. He laid a wreath on the grave of a Jewish murderer, a terrorist with a lot of Jewish blood on his hands. Or he sends a greeting card to the Iranian regime on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Under the auspices of this regime, homosexuals are stoned, women are stoned, a nuclear bomb is built against Israel and the Holocaust is denied. Are such people sent a greeting card? The empty statements about commitment to Israel remind me of the memorial ceremonies for Holocaust victims in Germany. The victims are the good Jews, because they are dead. Living Jews prefer not to be in touch. "

As a student, you were active in organizing solidarity with Israel.

Is such a thing possible today for the Jewish community in Germany, or not?

"Today we have to deal with imported hatred of Jews, which did not exist in such dimensions in the past. There is considerable ground in German society for anti-Jewish prejudices, which have their roots in Christian society and are absorbed by breast milk. It has become a chronic phenomenon.

"To this is now added the hatred imported from the Muslim world. In the past of course we also had to deal with hostility. But it was not violent. That hostility increased when East Germany opened. The Communists always called the Berlin Wall the 'anti-fascist wall'. When the borders fell I first understood why In the face of the fascism that came from there. Upside down. There is no doubt that the bald-headed idiots exist in Germany. It is very different from this hostility. We have held security demonstrations in the past. Going today to demonstrate against the Yom al-Quds marches requires courage. It is inconceivable to carry out such protests without the protection of the police.

"Today's violent anti-Semitism is, of course, incomparable to the Holocaust, but it identifies with the Holocaust. It is the source of the slogans 'Jews to gas' and 'Death to the Jews'. The Jewish community has also changed. Or against the real threat to them that they diminish in importance, as for example with the statement: 'It is not Islam, but the Islamists.' I see this threat every day in the immigrant neighborhoods of Berlin, and this threat comes from Islam. Is there anything the Islamists do that Muhammad did not or preached to do? So Muhammad was an Islamist too? And to all those who claim that the Islamists are the enemies of Islam - was Muhammad also an enemy of Islam? And deny that they hate Jews.There are, of course, Muslims who do not hate Jews.But the situation would not have developed as it would have developed had it not been for these ideas would not have enjoyed widespread sympathy. There is a consensus of silence around this. "

Thousands of Polish nationalists march on Independence Day // Archive photo: Reuters

There is a sense that the leadership of the Jewish community also finds it difficult to call the problem of contemporary anti-Semitism by its name.

is that so?

"The 'Central Committee of German Jews' today tries to represent the interests of the German government and not of the Jews in Germany. This has not been the case in the past. It represents the German government vis - à - vis the Jews and not the Jews vis - à - vis the German government. And the statistics prove it.The attack on the synagogue in Hala was carried out by an extreme right-wing psychopath, for whom the existing criminal punishment in Germany is too lenient. He should have received a very severe punishment. But immediately after this attack the leadership of the community, together with the government, took advantage of the terrible event for political purposes.

"That week, a Syrian refugee tried to carry out a massacre in the Great Synagogue in Berlin and failed. This is hardly mentioned. The 'Central Committee' would have seemed more credible if it had condemned Muslim attacks at least as much as it condemns right-wing attacks, and does not immediately warn Jews against generalizations against Islam. And the Muslims. Such conduct raises the question of why the Jewish leadership behaves in this way. The Central Committee on its various organizations is funded by the German government. The head of the Jewish community represents the 'new Jewish life' in Germany. "That Jews are immigrating from Germany or preparing their immigration from Germany. What will happen to our children and grandchildren in a country where they cannot enter entire districts in large cities?"

This year marks many events in 1,700 years of Judaism in Germany.

Does Judaism have a future in Germany?

"I'm not sure Christianity has a future in Germany. It depends on how the situation develops here. I suspect Islam, which is incapable of undergoing such a reformation of Judaism and Christianity. I think there is no awareness of the demographic danger and no talk about it. Birth among immigrant communities is very high. Immigrants to Germany are less integrated into first-generation German society. This is a result of a refusal to be absorbed into German society. They do not want to integrate. If this tendency does not stop and the demographic growth of Muslim populations here continues, The future of the Jews in Germany. We just have to see what happened to the Jews in the Islamic countries or in France.

Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, Photo: AP

"In the last election campaign almost all parties talked about issues such as digitalisation and the hysteria surrounding climate change, which led to an increase in the power of the 'Greens.' There are 3,000 antisemitic attacks a year, can it be ignored? Jews can not walk in certain neighborhoods of Berlin, they are verbally attacked every day, parks become threatening areas for children - and it is not the root population that is behind these phenomena, but crime and violence brought to Germany. They need to address this in their election campaign more significantly. But if they deal with climate issues, what do I need them for? This is the product of the Merkel years. They will be their first victims. "

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Source: israelhayom

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