1. AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION NEWSLETTER
dubowdigest@optonline.net
AMERICAN EDITION
March 6, 2013
Dear Friends:
With spring (almost) in the air my friends in Germany tell me they are beginning to see
the end of the grayest winter they can remember. Perhaps the citizenry, by and large,
has been waiting for warmer temps to start complaining about whatever it is they want
to complain about. However, the last month, at least, seems to have been a quiet one.
Yes! In Berlin there was a demonstration against tearing down, or at least moving part
of the remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall (It succeeded – for the time being) and the
government admitted they made a mistake in trying to impose a big new train station in
Stuttgart (They have to continue the construction as it would cost too much to stop) but
nothing really monumental happened.
However, that is not to say that the issues we report on in this journal were without
activity. As the kids say, “Stuff happens!” It did. Read about it below. On to the news…
IN THIS EDITION
ANTI-SEMITISM: GERMANY – When does anti-Israelism morph into anti-Semitism?
POLITICS: THE UPPER HOUSE & THE ELECTION – The Chancellor has lost her
majority. What does that forecast for the election?
DRESDEN & THE NEO-NAZIS – Hooray for the citizens!
NEO-NAZI FUNDING – Government money no less!
GERMAN JEWS & BANNING THE NEO-NAZIS – United? No!
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THE NSU MURDERS - Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund: And they were killing
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2. people.
THE OBERMAYER AWARDS – German Jewish history awards. Can you help?
DEATH OF A PARTY – The Pirates walk their own plank (or lack of having one)
GERMAN POLITICAL SCANDAL & ACADEMIC TITLES–Plagiarism takes its toll.
ANTI-SEMITISM: GERMANY
(This article also appears in my Germany Edition)
When Jews and Israel are discussed one of the most difficult issues to come to terms
with is “What is anti-Semitism and what is legitimate political criticism of the Jewish
State of Israel?” There is no doubt that some people who are critical of Israel’s policies
are not anti-Semites even though they are accused of being just that. On the other
hand, there are those with deep seated anti-Jewish feelings and attitudes that claim
they are only being critical of political policies. Because overt anti-Semitism is no longer
acceptable in Western society they claim not to be anti-Semitic and, therefore,
“bulletproof”. Sometimes the armor looks pretty thin.
Over the years wordsmiths have worked up ways of expressing anti-Semitism so that
no one can lay a glove on the purveyors. Indeed, it is sometimes very difficult to “prove”
that individuals are anti-Semites. “Smoking guns” are frequently hard to find. However,
what are we to believe when there is a tsunami of anti-Israelism in a society? Is it just
political criticism or is it something more troubling? There are indications that something
like that may be happening in Germany.
Isi Leibler is a well-known Israeli leader and political “pundit”. He writes frequently in the
Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom. In a recent article which appeared in both journals
he wrote, “In the aftermath of the Holocaust, successive German governments have
meticulously upheld their obligations to the Jewish people. Study of the Holocaust is a
mandatory component of the German state education curriculum, Holocaust denial is
classified as a crime and restitution commitments were honored and even exceeded.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is a genuine friend of the Jews and despite intense political
pressures and occasional minor vacillations, has consistently supported Israel,
describing its security as “part of my country‟s raison d‟etre”. However in recent years,
as in other European countries, German public opinion has turned against Israel,
perceiving it as the principal threat to global stability and peace. This hostility has
increasingly assumed overt anti-Semitic tones.
There is growing resentment against Jews, who are blamed for imposing excessive
emphasis on collective German national guilt for the Holocaust.
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3. Anti-Jewish hostility is often expressed in the more „politically respectable‟ demonization
of the Jewish nation state, allegedly not related to anti-Semitism although the
“Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe” (OSCE) explicitly defines such
behavior as anti-Semitic.
I am going to make you read Leibler’s article (see below) wherein he spells out the
various outcroppings of the kind of language which seems to prove the point he makes
that anti-Semitism is becoming more acceptable than it would have been a decade ago.
Leibler concludes his article with, “It was significant that in 2010, two Bundestag leftist
representatives were aboard the Turkish Marvi Marmara and that for the first time, the
left and the right united in parliament to carry a unanimous resolution censuring Israel
for the Gaza flotilla episode. This in itself may not represent anti-Semitism, but reflects
the atmosphere of increasing hostility against Israel which would have been
inconceivable in Germany only a few years ago.
For Jews, the positive side of Germany is the evident abundance of pro-Israeli and even
philo-Semitic rank and file Germans in all walks of life. Yet, simultaneously the
intensifying efforts by left wing activists uniting with Moslem extremists and occasionally
even Nazis, to demonize Israel and promote anti-Semitism, provide valid grounds for
concern about a future for Jews in Germany.
The situation is likely to further deteriorate drastically after the culmination of Angela
Merkel‟s term as Chancellor.
Perhaps he is a bit over the top about his “concern about a future for Jews in Germany”.
Every time I see an eruption of anti-Semitic writing or behavior I also see a strong
reaction in Germany. As long as it remains the democracy it is the implications remain
positive for Jews and Jewish life. However, European anti-Semitism remains a constant
and, indeed, is growing by leaps and bounds. If the virus spreads further, well, all bets
are off. It is a time when actions and words have to be examined more closely. What is
happening is very unsettling.
The Leibler article can be read by clicking here.
http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=68624233&msgid=994155&act=MF2Y&c=3651
52&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwordfromjerusalem.com%2F%3Fp%3D4518
POLITICS: THE UPPER HOUSE & THE ELECTION
The national election in Germany won’t be taking place until September. Chancellor
Merkel remains the most popular politician in the country but, as I’ve pointed out
numerous times she (and her CDU/CSU party) needs her coalition partner, the Free
Democrats (FDP) to get at least 5% of the vote to win seats in the Bundestag. If that
doesn’t happen, the opposition Social Democrats (SDP) and the Greens would have an
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easier path to a majority and could push her out of office. If none of that happens there
is the possibility of a “Grand Coalition” between the CDU/CSU and the SDP – an
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4. outcome no one likes. However a late poll just completed notes that the FDP for the first
time in a long time has reached the 5% level. Good news for them and for the
Chancellor. We’ll have to see if they can maintain it.
It would be nice for Fr. Merkel to, sort of, sit back, govern and see what happens in
September. She can’t! Why? She no longer has a majority in the upper house of the
parliament, the Bundesrat.
According to DW, “The Bundesrat is becoming a troubling problem for Merkel. Her
difficulties began in 2010, when Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its
coalition partner the Free Democratic Party (FDP) lost several regional elections and
along with them its majority in the upper house, which is made up of the governments of
Germany's 16 states. In the Bundesrat, state government representatives can re-
evaluate and overturn laws passed in the Bundestag, the German parliament's lower
house, if the laws affect the states.
Merkel's government has been forced into compromises with the opposition and those
compromises have often only come after drawn-out talks in the parliament's bicameral
negotiating committee. Occasionally, the government has attempted to use legal
loopholes to shut the Bundesrat out of the legislative process, by declaring certain laws
as "not subject to approval." But ever since the Lower Saxony election in January, that's
no longer possible either. Now states governed by the Social Democrats (SPD), the
Greens, and the socialist Left party account for 36 of the 69 votes in the Bundesrat.
With that majority under its belt, the opposition has the right to either stop or renegotiate
all government bills, without exception. The Bundesrat can also let the bills rot until the
end of the legislative period. That means that most laws are now dependent on the
approval of the opposition - which the government can rarely count on.
It is true that the Bundesrat is not always so slavish about party politics. Often, the state
premiers make decisions according to their own interests, not those of their party
headquarters in Berlin. But now, with a general election looming in September, that is
hardly likely.
But the Bundesrat is not limited to imposing blockades. It also has the right to start its
own legislative initiatives, and in the next few months, it intends to prepare the ground
for another SPD-Green turn in German politics. It wants to introduce initiatives like a
minimum wage, tax equality for gay couples, and the right to dual citizenship for all
children born to foreign parents in Germany.
The Bundesrat is rarely the scene of eye-catching heated political duals, and even
applause is frowned upon. And the Bundestag, still in Merkel's hands, has the right to
block the Bundesrat's bills. But opposition members are determined to show the
electorate they mean business and that the bills they proposes could become reality if
they receive the most votes in the poll on September 22.
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One thing is already certain: if the SPD and the Greens do win the election, the new
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center-left government under Social Democrat Peer Steinbrück can look forward to at
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5. least a year of completely unblocked legislating. The earliest that an SPD-Green
coalition government could lose its Bundesrat majority would be the Brandenburg
election in autumn 2014.
Being the “most powerful woman in the world”, as you can now see, is not a permanent
position. The politics in the local states can eat away at that power. It does not as yet
appear to have affected Chancellor Merkel’s personal popularity. However, it should be
kept in mind that in Germany the political parties are much more important than the
individual. Therefore, it behooves us (and her) to “stay tuned”.
DRESDEN & THE NEO-NAZIS
In early February The Local.de reported on an annual expected rally of neo-Nazis. It
noted, “Far-right extremists gather in Dresden each February 13th to condemn the
firebombing that nearly completely destroyed the city only months before the end of
World War II. But local residents have challenged the neo-Nazi hijacking of the date for
their propaganda purposes.
The massive Allied bombing raid on Dresden in February 1945 killed thousands of
civilians even though it was strategically unnecessary at the time with Hitler‟s forces
nearly defeated.
The number of those who were killed has also been controversial, with an official
estimate lowered to 25,000 a few years ago. Prior to that, hundreds of thousands where
thought to have died in the raid.
Some 3,000 police from across Germany will be present to try and keep around 1,000
fascists away from an estimated 10,000 demonstrators.
“The police consider its duty to be a neutral party guaranteeing the freedom of
assembly,” said Dresden Police Chief Dieter Kroll, according to public broadcaster
MDR.
No doubt that the city of Dresden was ready for a dangerous demonstration and
possibly an ugly confrontation between the neo-Nazis and the expected counter
demonstrators.
Surprise! That’s not what happened.
In a later edition The Local.de reported, “In the past, right-wing extremists have sought
to dominate Dresden efforts to remember the World War II bombing of the city on Feb.
13, 1945. But on Wednesday night, a vast human chain blocked a planned neo-Nazi
march while peacefully marking the tension-filled anniversary.
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Thousands of people joined hands to form a human chain in Dresden Wednesday,
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blocking a planned neo-Nazi march and remembering the World War II bombing of the
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6. city 68 years before.
For years, neo-Nazis have used the anniversary of the bombing to march on the city.
The bombing of Dresden holds great emotional significance for some because of the
vast destruction of the city -- long admired for its beauty and cultural heritage -- and
because of the number of people killed in the attack. It has often been instrumentalized
by right-wing extremists to highlight what they see as Allied barbarity.
Peaceful protesters have been gathering in Dresden in recent years in counter
demonstrations to the neo-Nazi marches, and local politicians say they have been
effective in keeping the right-wing presence down. Until just a few years ago there were
an estimated 6,000 right-wing marchers in the city on the anniversary each year. This
year police say there were between 600 and 800.
To get thousands of people out on a February night to stand in the cold to make a
political statement is a genuine achievement. The message is clear.
The article is accompanied by a set of pictures both touching and upsetting. I think you
should take a moment to click here and give them a look. They will tell you a great deal
more than the printed article.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/demonstrators-in-dresden-block-neo-nazi-
march-with-human-chain-a-883326.html
NEO-NAZI FUNDING
One of those peculiarities of the German political system is that all political parties get
government funding – including the neo-Nazi NPD Party. According to DW, “Despite its
far-right positions, the NPD received financial support from the German parliament, the
Bundestag, until last week - in 2011 it received a grand total of 1.32 million euros ($1.74
million) of taxpayer's money.”
But that is all over now. A payment of 113,000 euros, which the party was still entitled to
for last year's campaign costs, was stopped. The Bundestag has also asked the
regional parliaments to freeze their payments to the NPD. The reason is apparently an
administrative error - the NPD is reported to have provided incomplete records of its
finances, and is now refusing to pay the fine imposed by the Federal Administrative
Court.
But why should a German far-right party be entitled to state money as long as it keeps
its books in order?
Germany's party financing regulations apply irrespective of a party's politics. "At the very
start of the history of the Federal Republic, money was distributed according to
preference," says Kai Arzheimer, head of the political science institute at the University
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of Mainz. For that reason, government parties tended to benefit from state money the
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7. most. "But in the subsequent development of party financing, we moved away from
such arbitrary political payments."
Now the Bundestag decides by way of strictly objective rules which groups get money
from the state. In order to qualify for support, a party must field candidates at federal,
state, or European elections. Then the party must win at least 0.5 percent of the vote. If
clears that hurdle, the party receives 85 euro cents for every vote - and 70 cents for
anything above four million votes.
That gives small parties the opportunity to take their place on the political stage, and
that doesn't only go for the NPD. The rise of the Green party was only possible because
of party financing, according to Arzheimer. "The system is meant to make political
innovation possible, so that parties can prove that they have serious goals and can get
elected too," he says.
So the NPD is subject to the same rules as all the other parties, and the reason for the
withholding of funds - at least for now - lies in its faulty accounting. In order to get the
subsidy from the Bundestag, each party has to provide regular reports of how much
money it has, and what it is spending its state subsidy on. The Federal Administrative
Court said that its 2007 report was incorrect and incomplete, and in December 2012 it
imposed a fine of 1.27 million euros. As the NPD failed to pay up, all payments have
now been stopped.
The cancellation of payments comes two months after the interior ministers of
Germany's 16 states agreed to attempt a legal ban on the NPD. It will be the second
time that the ministers will present a ban to Germany's Constitutional Court. The first
attempt failed in 2003 because German intelligence agents were found to be active in
the NPD leadership.
According to the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, citing Christian Democratic Union sources,
Chancellor Angela Merkel is now planning to convince her cabinet to bring its own suit
to ban the NPD.
No matter what sorts of law suits are brought and no matter what the Bundestag does
the final decision regarding the NPD’s legality as a party is up to the courts. I think
outlawing them will be a tough sell. They may be undemocratic but outlawing a party is
a sensitive matter in Germany going back to the 1930’s when the Nazis outlawed
opposing parties. Germany democracy in some instances can be very democratic. We’ll
have to wait and see how the matter is finally concluded.
GERMAN JEWS & BANNING THE NEO-NAZIS
One would think that the German Jewish leadership could, behind closed doors, map
out a unified position on whether the neo-Nazi NPD Party should be outlawed or not.
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However, that does not seem to be the case.
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8. The Times of Israel recently reported, “Germany‟s Jews are disagreeing about whether
the country‟s largest neo-Nazi party should be banned.
The president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany says the organization‟s official
position has for many years been consistent in calling for authorities to initiate legal
proceedings to outlaw the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), which is said to
follow in the ideological footsteps of Hitler‟s Nazi party. Yet the organization‟s secretary-
general, Stephan J. Kramer, caused a stir last week when he said that he was decidedly
against such a step.
“One cannot prohibit [neo-Nazi] ideas, you can only fight them,” Kramer told a local
newspaper. Any efforts to ban the party were doomed to failure, he said.
In response to Kramer‟s statements, which were widely reported in national media
outlets, the Jewish Central Council‟s president and vice presidents issued a statement
Thursday clarifying that the organization‟s longstanding call for a ban remains its official
position on the matter.
“We still strongly advocate for the Bundestag and the federal government to rapidly join
the Bundesrat‟s initiative,” the statement read, referring to the two houses of German
parliament. “We would view this as a sign of a fighting democracy that confronts its
enemies.” It is incomprehensible why public funds should finance neo-Nazi propaganda
and hatred, the statement continued. “In our view, this party should have been banned
long ago.”
The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has yet to decide whether to support the
effort. Several senior politicians in her cabinet are skeptical, fearing that either the
German Supreme Court or the European Court of Human Rights could annul a ban of
the party, which, despite being ideologically close to Nazism, operates within the
parameters of the law.
“The Central Council‟s position [to support an NPD ban] is unequivocal,” Kramer told
German reporters last week. “But as a citizen of this country I allow myself to have a
different personal opinion.”
I know Stephan very well. He is an outstanding and deeply committed Jewish
professional. In this case he has, perhaps, erred.
Every human being is entitled to have a “personal opinion”. That’s not the question
here. The problem is going public with that opinion when the organization for which you
work has an opposing position. Do you not have an obligation to support the
organization or, if you cannot, either stay silent or resign? Of course, there is the
question of how important the individual is to the organization. Sometimes things can be
overlooked and that may happen here. Stephan is a very important and well known
public figure. I’m sure the Central Council would not want to lose him. I wouldn’t!
However, divergent opinions coming from the Central Council can be very confusing to
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the general public and, worse, to the government. Unanimity here, in my opinion, is
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really important.
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9. THE NSU MURDERS
In the last year I have written sporadically about the neo-Nazi murder group but have
not spelled out the entire story. Below I want to rectify that error of omission. It’s an
important story, one that bears telling and understanding not only about the murder
gang but the aftermath as well.
It is certainly no secret that that there are neo-Nazis in Germany. What was not known
until a little more than a year ago is that there was a small organized murder group that
was unknown to the police. According to Wikipedia there were, “…a series of murders
that took place in Germany between 2000 and 2006, leaving ten people dead and one
wounded. The perpetrators called themselves National Socialist Underground (NSU)
(German: Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund). The primary target of these right-wing
extremist-oriented crimes were predominantly immigrants of Turkish origin and one
person of Greek origin.
The victims were mostly small business owners (doner kebab vendors, grocers,
locksmiths, alteration tailors, internet café operators) who were murdered in broad
daylight by being shot in the face at close range, all with one and the same weapon, a
silenced CZ 83.
The German authorities identified three suspects, Uwe Böhnhardt, Uwe Mundlos, and
Beate Zschäpe as responsible for the murders and attempted murders. Böhnhardt and
Mundlos were found dead by police after they robbed a bank on 4 November 2011.
Police say they committed suicide. Zschäpe turned herself in on 11 November 2011.
She will go on trial shortly.
The police and intelligence services were terribly embarrassed especially when it was
revealed, (DW) “Fresh revelations have once again put an embarrassing spotlight on
the German police: an alleged accomplice of the neo-Nazi terror cell National Socialist
Underground (NSU) apparently also for several years worked as an informant for
Berlin's State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA). Initially the only news trickling
through was that the authorities were tipped off as early as 2002 on the possible
whereabouts of the terrorist trio; however, they apparently failed to pursue this line of
enquiry. Shortly after it transpired that the LKA informant even supplied the group with
explosives.
The very poor performance of the police and intelligence agencies, including the fact
that this group was killing people for years without their even knowing about it made it
into a national disgrace. It came to a point where the President of Germany felt it
incumbent upon himself to meet with the families of the victims and a new national neo-
Nazi register was announced.
In addition, a memorial was held in Berlin in which, “Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the
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main address before 1,200 guests at the Concert House on the central
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Gendarmenmarkt Square.
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10. “The murders of the Thuringian terror cell were an attack on our country,” a somber-
looking Merkel said. “They have brought shame upon our country.”
She was flanked on stage by candles representing the victims: “Ten burning candles,
ten lives extinguished – extinguished by cold-blooded murder.”
In order to somehow make amends to the families of the victims an ombudsperson for
the NSU victims' families was appointed. Barbara John, who for 22 years was
commissioner for foreigners' affairs for the city-state of Berlin was given the job. She
heads the Association of Social Movements in Berlin. In 2007, John was elected head
of the federal government's antidiscrimination advisory board. She’s great person.
Exactly the right one to shoulder this responsibility.
DW interviewed her. The transcript follows. “Deutsche Welle: you are urging the
creation of a foundation to commemorate the murders of the rightwing extremist NSU
group. What is behind this appeal?
Barbara John: The basic idea is that the relatives can get active. The process of coming
to terms with the worst series of murders in post-war Germany since those of the
leftwing extremist RAF should not come to an end the moment the parliamentary inquiry
finishes its work and the memorial plaques have all been put up. The foundation should
mainly work to get security officials - the police and possibly justice authorities - to deal
with victims better. One could get the families concerned involved, with all their
experience. It is also very important to ensure that the documents - the investigation
records, the documents from the future court case and the minutes of the parliamentary
inquiry - are not again dispersed all over the place. Much is to be learned from these
documents, and that is only possible if they are kept in one place - that means there
should be a documentation center.
How would you finance the project?
There are no funds yet. It would be groundbreaking if civil society would make it
possible. If every citizen who earns money were to donate 50 cents just once, such a
foundation could become reality.
Isn't that first and foremost a task for politics or the government?
It would certainly be easier, but a civil society foundation, where the citizens themselves
say "we want things to change," would be an important stimulus for society. It would
express the commitment of the citizens that we want to push back rightwing radical
thought and action.
Speaking about money: you campaigned for payments to the murder victims' families -
are you and the families satisfied?
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That varies. There is one family that will not accept a cent. The Yozgat family from
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Kassel wanted a permanent memorial for their son Halit. They wanted the street where
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11. the 21-year-old was born and murdered renamed after him. Currently, there's a square
which bears his name. Apart from that, the family refuses any kind of compensation. Of
course, no amount of material compensation can compensate for the death of a family
member. But it is also about compensation for expenses. Every close relative has
received 10,000 euros ($13,383.) As far as I am concerned, this is a meager sum. Just
think of the victims on the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground in Italy.
Everyone on that ship got more money than the NSU murder victims' families.
The German Chancellor wants to meet the relatives once again. How significant is that?
It is exceedingly important to be noticed and to continue to remind the public that these
inconceivable events really happened. What we know so far about the security
authorities' botched investigations will play a great role in the meeting with the
chancellor. I think it is very important for the chancellor to hear first-hand what effect
that had on the families and how they think one might create a better atmosphere in
general between natives and immigrants.
What must change, what lessons must Germany learn from the neo-Nazi killing spree?
Two things - when I was commissioner of foreigners' affairs, this was always the most
important issue, too: there should never be mixed political messages. On one hand,
there are demands for immigration and better integration, but at the same time,
foreigners across the board are held responsible for things that go wrong. Demonizing
or denying the existence of a multifaceted, multicultural society also sends the wrong
signals: "They are just a nuisance here." That must stop. The second point concerns us
all: how often do you hear a derogatory, negative remark about immigrants in your own
circles. People accept it or ignore it. Instead, you should broach the subject, and try to
find out why people think that way. It is important not to give any space to such opinions
which want to exclude some people. Rightwing radicals can only spread into the spaces
we leave for them.
Like I said – the right person for the job.
THE OBERMAYER AWARDS
In the year 2000 Arthur Obermayer of Boston instituted an important set of prizes, the
Obermayer German-Jewish History Awards which are given annually to individuals who
have made outstanding voluntary contributions toward preserving and recording the
Jewish history, heritage, culture and/or remnants of local German communities.
The award announcement notes, “In recent decades, many individuals in Germany
have tried to study, interpret, and reconstruct information about the Jewish life that
flourished in Germany for centuries in communities large and small, and to confront its
destruction.
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In many cases, these individuals have, without thought of reward, helped raise
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awareness about a once-vibrant culture, in memorial to those who perished in the
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12. Holocaust, in recognition of the profound contribution of Jewish culture and individuals
to Germany and in hopes of rebuilding destroyed connections.
These volunteers have devoted countless hours to such projects, but until now few have
been recognized or honored for their efforts. The German Jewish Community History
Council believes it is particularly meaningful for Jews the world over to recognize and
encourage such work through this award, and to bring international attention to these
activities”.
Arthur, an old friend, wrote to me, “Because so many American Jews have been
beneficiaries of the work of these dedicated Germans, it is important that your audience
has an opportunity to submit nominations for this significant award. For more
information, please visit http://www.obermayer.us/award.
So, if you know of a possible nominee, please contact Arthur. A nominating form can be
obtained by clicking on the link above.
DEATH OF A PARTY
Those of you who have been reading DuBow Digest know that last year I extensively
covered the rise of a new political party in Germany – The Pirate Party. Any political
organization with such a name was, of course, destined to get publicity. When it
somehow was not able to come together to post any kind of a political platform it looked
as if it might come to a quick end. It did talk about being the party of the Internet but no
one could figure out what that meant.
Surprisingly it did not quickly self-destruct. With deep concern about the established
parties, some of the electorate turned to the Pirates and elected some of them to state
parliaments. They got 15 seats in Berlin, 4 in Saarland, 20 in North Rhine Westphalia
and 8.2% of the vote in Schleswig-Holstein though it was hard to figure out what they
stood for.
However, with the national election coming up in September the Pirates seem to be
committing political suicide and look as if they’re finished as any kind of even a protest
organization.
Spiegel On-Line recently reported, “The Pirate Party finds itself falling apart. With
German federal elections seven months away, a minor miracle would have to occur for
the Pirates to clear the 5 percent hurdle that allows a party to hold seats in the
Bundestag, the country's parliament. The Pirate Party has been too busy tearing itself
apart, with members fighting leaders, who are bickering among themselves and
antagonizing the members too. In just the last two days, party leaders for the states of
Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg have stepped down, citing the negative climate.
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"The atmosphere is so poisonous, there's hardly any constructive work taking place
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anymore," says Udo Vetter, one of the party's prominent candidates in the state of North
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13. Rhine-Westphalia. Marina Weisband, one of the Pirates' most iconic figures, took refuge
in gallows humor last week when she tweeted, "We're the party of liquid democrazy." It
may sound funny, but it's not a joke.
One of the reasons why I’ve had more than a passing interest in the Pirate Party is the
fact that its political director, Marina Weisband, is Jewish. I pointed out last year that my
close friend, Howie Weisband who lives in Israel, and is a longtime Pittsburgh Pirate
fan, might be related to Marina. They may or not be kin but it seems that their
organizations are suffering the same fate.
Again Spiegel On-Line, “Marina Weisband, too, has seen how her party treats people
who are well-liked by the general public. The party's former political director, who
stepped down in January citing health issues, briefly considered returning to politics and
running for a seat in the upcoming parliamentary election. But when SPIEGEL
published an article detailing her intentions, there was a hail of criticism from party
members who said the politician was arrogant and taking herself too seriously. Soon
after, Weisband announced she would not be running for parliament this year.
These days, Weisband looks exhausted, in part from all the party infighting. She has
written a book scheduled for publication in March, and at the moment will comment
publicly only on that, not the Pirates. It seems she's afraid to be told once again that
she's making too much of herself.
But Weisband's blog reveals how she sees the Pirate Party these days. The party
promised to reform democracy, she writes, wanting to be a force in which an idea's
merit was the only thing that mattered, and anyone could take part. But it failed to make
good on that promise. "We're too cowardly," Weisband writes. "We lied."
If you’d like to read the whole Spiegel On-Line story click here.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-pirate-party-sinks-amid-chaos-and-
bickering-a-884533.html
GERMAN POLITICAL SCANDAL & ACADEMIC TITLES
The German government has recently had to shoulder a major scandal when
(DW)“Former Education Minister Annette Schavan has suffered the consequences of
the plagiarism scandal surrounding her doctorate. Four days after Heinrich Heine
University revoked her title, Schavan resigned from her post.
“…it was Internet users rather than university officials who got the ball rolling on the
plagiarism affair. People trying to spot instances of plagiarism published questionable
passages from prominent figures' dissertations online. The passages in question
generally involved unattributed quotations that could be found in other works. Although
mild cases might be chalked up to citation errors, people were looking for evidence that
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theft of intellectual property had occurred. The most well-known case to date involved
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former Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who stepped down in March 2011
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14. after reports surfaced that parts of his dissertation were taken from sources he had not
appropriately credited.
A little plagiarism in a 30 year old Ph.D. thesis, it seems to me, would not be such a big
deal in the U.S. A public apology or some half-truth explanation would probably be
accepted by the public and the matter would be put to rest. However, the culture in
Germany, especially when it comes to academic titles, takes cheating to obtain them
very seriously. How come?
Anna Sauerbrey, an editor at the Berlin daily Der Tagesspeigel wrote in The New York
Times, “…the scandal has opened up a conversation about Germany‟s hunger for
scandal and moral self-flagellation wherever it is found, however minor — a condition
that has fed a deep, slow-burning crisis in our political culture.
Germany is remarkably free of serious cases of political misbehavior.
Strangely, the lack of scandal and the hunger for it wherever it arises [by the media],
has fed another tendency in the German psyche: a historically induced mistrust of the
political system.
Though Germany has been a nation of goody-two-shoes for decades, many Germans
remain convinced that there is evil lurking in each of us, especially our political elite.
Isn‟t that the one thing history has taught us, that every political system is fallible, that
there can never be enough control over the political leaders?
When we don‟t find that evil, we look deeper, until we find something, anything, to prove
us right. Instead of taking pride in our comparatively low level of corruption and our fairly
high level of prosperity, German voters and the news media are busy scolding their
leaders and constantly feeling mistreated.
All of this would be funny if it didn‟t have a dire consequence. Fewer and fewer of the
young and talented are choosing politics as their field of work. Who wants to work in a
supposedly wicked profession, where everyone is watching you? The political parties,
which function as the magnet and training ground for future bureaucrats and political
leaders, are having trouble attracting enough people to work in the federal government,
not to mention the states.
True, there are other factors: the money is definitely elsewhere; politics in Germany is
not as lucrative as it is in America. But the idealism that drives young politicians
everywhere is gone, too.
In the reactions to Annette Schavan‟s resignation, however, there has been a new tone.
Berlin, capital of vain negativity and furious criticism, seems to be on the brink of self-
reflection. People are starting to ask whether we should be so cruel toward leaders who
make such minor mistakes, just to satisfy our own righteousness. Seeing a decent,
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upstanding minister of education leaving the stage for minor reasons could be a turning
point in our political culture.”
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15. Obviously, the article doesn’t have anything to do with German – Jewish relations.
However, I think it is important for those who read this newsletter to understand
Germany, its morals and its political climate. When one considers the recent Jesse
Jackson, Jr. and Jack Abramoff scandals here in the U.S. the differences between the
morals and penalties here in the U.S. and in Germany are absolutely stark.
****************************************************************************************************
See you again in early April.
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted by
clicking here
Both the American and Germany editions are posted at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com
Click here to connect
BTW – all editions are posted at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com
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