MShould people in Germany hide their sympathy for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip? Is it forbidden to mourn the dead, lament the suffering of the living and criticize the Israeli government for possibly accepting too many civilian casualties in its campaign against Hamas terrorists? Yes, said, slightly pointedly, the Serbian-Bosnian writer Lana Bastašić (who was heavily praised for her first two books) in an article that appeared in the British Guardian in November. Anything that looks like sympathy for the Palestinians is denounced as anti-Semitism, and even the word “Palestine” is no longer allowed to be spoken.
The article was still worth reading: because the writer, who according to her Instagram profile lives in Berlin, described an attitude that one has to call an imperious philo-Semitism, a German intolerance that actually doesn't care about the Jews, as long as they only care about the Muslims can discipline and distract from native anti-Semitism.
Should Muslims be afraid?
The extent to which pro-Palestinian voices have their say at any time was seen and heard recently, for example, at the PEN Congress, where two Jewish and two Palestinian anti-Zionists were allowed to agree for an hour and a half in condemning Israel. The fact that the Palestinian cause still has a legitimacy problem is also due to the loud and aggressive calls for the extinction of Israel in the name of this cause at Berlin universities. And that Jewish students no longer dare to attend courses there.
What makes empathy particularly difficult is the sad fact that empathy apparently does not exist without hatred of Israel. For Lana Bastašić it also seems to be a fact that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide. She did not sign the “Strike Germany” call, even though she describes the German conditions in just as harsh words. But she has now announced on Instagram that she no longer wants to work with her German publisher. It is S. Fischer – and because the publisher has derived from its Jewish history of founding and persecution the obligation to declare solidarity with Israel after the Hamas massacre, the author accuses it of moral irresponsibility: S. Fischer is silent about the suffering of the people Palestinians. The publisher is complicit in the fact that every single Muslim in Germany has to fear deportation. Such stupid statements are particularly damaging to the Palestinian cause. Lana Bastašić ends a conversation that, according to the Guardian article, should have begun.
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