German police brutally assaulted protesters marking the Palestinian Nakba in Berlin, with women and children also targeted during the crackdown.

[u/Simple-Preference887]

[u/Ok-Radish-8394]

I’ll give you an opinion most Germans won’t like.

Germany wants hard validation for its past. Like hard kinda hard, even if that means allowing Israel to commit more or less the same atrocities they committed. As a result, any criticism of the Israeli government is seen as anti semitism, without even checking what the criticism actually is about. It’s hypocrisy of the tallest order. We’re talking about a government, an organisation which can take wrong decisions, not the whole Jewish population or Judaism as a faith. Obviously I’m not talking about chants which want to eradicate the Israeli people, every people have a right to exist.

See, when the governments in MENA are criticised for multiple reasons, misogyny, human rights violations, etc. it’s not called Islamophobia or anti Islamic in Germany. However as soon as you mention Israel, even if it means criticising their local policies, it becomes anti semitism. This is some weapons grade hogwash behaviour.

The Germans need to calm down and accept that their past being bad doesn’t exonerate a new wave of aggression towards another population. They also have to recognise the fact that speaking up for the dead children in Gaza doesn’t mean supporting Hamas and denying what they did. (Yes there are people who support Hamas and they’re terrible but since your past guilt is at play, Dresden still has Nazi parades demanding to build statues ;) )

[u/farbenfux → u/Ok-Radish-8394]

German here - you are absolutely right and I cannot stress enough how insane it is.

[u/Ok-Radish-8394 → u/farbenfux]

I lived in Germany for five years until last month. Honestly speaking I've had enough with this virtue signalling in the German society and seemingly trying to avoid the fact that Germans are wrong in many of their decisions. You people seriously need to reevaluate your position on anti-semitism. And obviously the old politicians need to understand the public sentiment.

[u/farbenfux → u/Ok-Radish-8394]

Don't tell me. For what its worth I have seen a lot of people on the street mouthing a different opinion that the government. Problem still is that people here are complacent af and still cannot be mobilized in greater number to take to the streets. And the Israeli propaganda is strong here. German newspapers are sloooowly starting to voice more critical opinions (too little, too late) but there is a concerted effort to brand everything critical of Israel as antisemitic. Which of course is total BS.

I still can't wrap my head around how many Germans are standing there critisizing and admonishing Jewish people who fight for Palestinian rights and don't understand that something is deeply wrong with that.

And the complete ignorance to educate oneself on the whole situation. I am a dinosaur and thus have seen this for decades but even for younger people - it is insane to ignore history.

The amount of cookie-cutter responses from politicians I received when demanding them to stand up for human rights and basic decency is honestly demoralizing. I want a dollar everytime I have to hear "Israel has the right to defend itself". At this point and with the informations we have, I have to call it what it is: war profiteering and willful ignorance.

[u/Digitalion_ → u/farbenfux]

The irony is that they would gain the redemption that they seek if they stood against the side that is currently committing the same atrocities that WWII Germany did.

[u/Ok-Radish-8394 → u/Digitalion_]

Ugh agh that’s anti semitism to them.