NI recently went to Duisburg-Marxloh to ask migrants their opinion on the Middle East conflict. On Weseler Straße the shops are Turkish, bridal fashion, men’s suits and jewelry. At number 142 there is a young Turkish bookseller with a bushy beard and a wool sweater. He says: “I find it sad that the war crimes that Israel is committing are not discussed at all. They turn off electricity and fuel in Gaza. And then there is the claim about phosphorus bombs.” He means fire bombs whose fire cannot be put out. Israel has denied using such bombs in Gaza.
“I also find it sad,” says the man, “that Germany chooses a side instead of mediating.” Just like the reports in the German media, everything is always “pro-Israel.” Or the politicians who don’t answer questions about the Israelis’ alleged war crimes. “And then they always say, they have the right to defend themselves.” Or the Israelis and how they treat Christians and Muslims. “In Jerusalem, Germans were spit on by Jews, you can see that on videos.” It’s not like he has anything against Jews. “Nobody has anything against Jews who live here.”
The man is 25 years old and does not want to give his name. He would rather talk about the few German politicians who say something against Israel and are criticized for it. “There are videos of that too,” he says and takes out his cell phone. You can see Norbert Blüm from the CDU on a talk show, he speaks of the “humiliation” of the Palestinians, of a “fragmented country”. It must be an older excerpt, Blüm has been dead for a few years.
“Jews had no problems in Islamic countries”
Then another video from social networks, Jürgen Möllemann from the FDP, again on a talk show. “There are Israeli tanks in Palestine!” says Möllemann, accompanied by oriental music. People should be allowed to criticize Israel without being immediately pushed into the anti-Semitic corner. At the end there was a report from the Tagesschau that Möllemann had died after jumping out of the plane because his parachute had not opened. The compilation makes it seem as if there was a connection between his statements about Israel and his death.
Short interruption, a customer comes into the store. She needs a book for her son, who is having trouble keeping up at school. That’s why he should read more, preferably something that excites him. She buys “The Story of the Prophets,” “The Story of the Prophet Mohammed” in Turkish, and a quiz about the prophets. The bookseller then speaks about Islam, quietly and with concentration. “Jews,” he says, “had no problems in Islamic countries. Anyone who is familiar with Islam knows that we humans are all equal, there is no higher or lower.” Then I say goodbye.
It’s cool outside, clouds hang over the city. The man from the bookstore calls out “Wait!”, he wants to say something else. He’s on the sidewalk now. “Germany donated 700 million euros to Israel,” he says. “The income here is not enough for many people, we have problems with pensioners. And then we just throw this money out. Do you understand what I mean?”
A few steps further is the Turkish fashion house Şeker, a house from the Wilhelminian era, the facade is crumbling. But the shop windows are shining, and there are brightly colored princess dresses hanging on the racks inside. The shop owner wears gray sneakers, a gray jogging suit, and he has gray hair and gray stubble. War is brutal, he says, people die, “that’s normal.”
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