Everybody is talking about German guilt standing in the way of recognizing faults with Israel and I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. It’s rather that now all the actual anti semites are coming out of their holes and mix with people rightfully opposed to Israel’s actions, amplifying the hate against Jews in general.
It’s also becoming very clear, that many immigrants from that region and with that cultural background do not share our values and believes, in fact, many of them are opposed to it, making it even more muddy, because being opposed to Israel’s action doesn’t mean approving ofnHamas and the Palestinian situation either. And for many of these people there’s only two sides of the coin.
It’s the paradox of tolerance all over again…there is no right way to do it, all ways to get over this are going to be messy and probably also a bit violent. Free speech also only works, if people are willing to accept different opinions. Which is increasingly difficult with the rising extremism.
That also means that stifling some things is necessary, because free speech isn’t absolute. There are things that are simply not covered by free speech, because it goes against every value or believes. Sometimes it’s also instigating…and we’re back at the paradox of tolerance. To be tolerant of different values and free speech, some things have to not be tolerated.
I couldn’t read the whole article because of the paywall but I had the feeling from the beginning that Germany because of his historical guilt throws all considerations that Israel might be doing something wrong over board and suppresses every voice which try to point that out, even the moderate voices.
Don’t think for a moment that the US or any country is safe from stifling free speech under the guise of antisemitism. The ADL and other Zionist organizations will do everything in their power to enact the same laws here in the US. When you outlaw a phrase calling for equality and dignity for all people, don’t be surprised when you get fascism.
