germany

A demonstrator shows a banner during a protest in front of the US Embassy against the US President Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel, Berlin, Germany, December 8, 2017. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

Israeli official threatens German activists: ‘We know who you are’

After an Israeli flag was burned at a Berlin protest, the head of international relations for Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence Services says Germany’s pro-Palestine activists must ‘live in fear.’ By Inna Michaeli In the Ministry of Intelligence Services there is one person responsible for international relations. That same person is also currently threatening the citizens of Germany. On…

By +972 Magazine December 18, 2017

Germans protest outside a cafe where members of the AfD were celebrating the results of Germany’s general elections, Berlin, September 24, 2017. (Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

German elections dredge up ghosts of the past

During the first awakening of Germany’s nationalist ghosts after reunification, the country never really had an honest conversation about racism and violence in East Germany. The rise of the AfD and its strong support in the East demonstrates that the country must still be vigilant about protecting its democracy and institutions. By Şeyda Emek I…

By +972 Magazine September 29, 2017

People walk by a mural depicting a combination of the Israeli and German flag on the Berlin wall, March 13, 2016. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Are litmus tests on culture spreading from Israel to Berlin?

Pro-Israel journalists and politicians in Germany target a Palestinian arts and culture festival, its curators and the venue hosting it. By Inna Michaeli A celebration of Palestinian arts and culture in the city of Berlin has sent a few German journalists and local politicians over the edge. “After the Last Sky,” a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary and international…

By +972 Magazine October 25, 2016

Latest

Iranian-German director Farschid Ali Zahedi.

The Iranian-German who made a film about the annihilation of Ukraine’s Jews

Director Farschid Ali Zahedi fled Iran for Germany following the Islamic Revolution, where he became fascinated by Jewish history and the Holocaust. After four years of work he is now releasing his latest film on the extermination of Jews in the Ukrainian city of Kovel. Orly Noy sat down to speak to him about debuting his film…

By Orly Noy September 17, 2016

Refugees march toward the Hungarian-Austrian border. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

A place of dignity for refugees in Berlin

An outpouring of hospitality is on full display at a shelter in the German capital, where volunteers insist on treating refugees as people, not just victims. But as the gifts pour in, how deep is the well of kindness — and what is brewing under the surface? BERLIN — A few young teenage Arab boys…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 21, 2015

Prime Minister Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet in Jerusalem in 2011. (Photo: Avi Ohayun/GPO)

Occupation increasingly a touchstone for Israeli-German relations

After 50 years of diplomatic relations, the Israeli-German partnership is strained by mounting German dismay over Israel’s settlement policy and reinvigorated anti-Semitism in Germany. By Angela Gruber Israel and Germany are marking 50 years of diplomatic relations this week. While most people probably aren’t reeling with excitement in anticipation of the countless festivities (especially on…

By +972 Magazine May 12, 2015

Demonstration against anti-Semitism and all racism in Berlin, September 14, 2014. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Anti-Zionists join rally against anti-Semitism in Berlin

Our joint Jewish-Palestinian-German protest confused participants at the rally against anti-Semitism, and definitely confused the German police. We wanted to chip away at the automatic linkage between Jews and the State of Israel. Text by Inna Michaeli Photos by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org BERLIN — By the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Sunday, some 3,000 people rallied against…

By +972 Magazine September 15, 2014

Sima Kavlo, living in the apartment for 34 years, after her parent passed away. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Beyond the market and the state: Horizons for a new kind of public housing

The choice between entrusting the right of people to a house either to the hands of a violent government or to capitalists is futile and dispiriting. But is it possible to free ourselves of this stranglehold? A conversation with Sebastian Schipper about a new possibility for public housing (and what it is like to pay…

By Haokets February 15, 2014

Why Germany abstained from the UN vote on Palestine

After a diplomatic disaster following the 2011 Security Council vote on Libya, and with popular opinion in Germany against him, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle realized he could not isolate Germany again. By Anselm Kiersch “… and, what a surprise, Germany!” So said Moussa Ibrahim, Muammar Gaddafis spokesman, when he listed the countries that had abstained from the…

By +972 Magazine December 5, 2012

Outlawing circumcision: Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic

A German court ruling against circumcision has sparked controversy and emotion across religious and secular lines. The debate has reached +972: Larry Derfner views the decision as a crucial message against a practice he rejects, and Noam Sheizaf considers circumcision’s normative power in conformist Israeli society. The following text presents a third perspective, which sees grave…

By +972 Magazine June 30, 2012

Stand up for your son: Say ‘no’ to ritual circumcision

Even if criminalization is impractical, this week’s German court ruling against circumcision on children, except for medical purposes, sent a much-needed message. I’ve been an atheist since adolescence, but being a Jew has always been a vital element of my identity, something I can’t imagine not being, and for this reason, above all others, I knew as a matter…

By Larry Derfner June 29, 2012

Günter Grass, persona non grata in Israel

Now Interior Minister Eli Yishai has declared Grass to be persona non grata while Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has accused the German author of being “willing to sacrifice the Jewish people on the altar of crazy anti-Semites for a second time, just to sell a few more books or gain recognition.” Yishai and Lieberman are the two most outspoken racists in the…

By Larry Derfner April 8, 2012

Naomi Chazan: An undemocratic Israel will not last a minute

In a conference in Berlin on Israeli-German relations, Israeli speakers ask Germany to become the ‘true’ friend that Israel needs. (Berlin, GERMANY) – “No self respecting democracy in the world can accept the current wave of anti-democratic legislation in Israel,” said New Israel Fund President Naomi Chazan in Berlin this weekend. Chazan, a former Meretz…

By Ami Kaufman February 20, 2012