East Germany–Palestine relations

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East Germany-Palestine relations

East Germany
Palestine

East Germany–Palestine relations refer to foreign relations that existed between East Germany and the State of Palestine. East Germany never established diplomatic ties with Israel and opposed Holocaust repatriation payment from West Germany to Israel.[1]

History

East Germany opposed the state of Israel and supported Arab states in their conflict with Israel.[2] It condemned and opposed Zionism.[3] West Germany on the other hand was pro-Israel, providing it with financial and military support.[4]

Since the end of the 1950s the attitude of the GDR leadership toward the

anti-imperialist struggle, especially in repelling Israeli aggression and overcoming its consequences". In 1968, Simon Wiesenthal stated that East Germany's news service was far more anti-Israeli than that of other communist countries. On 14 July 1967, a cartoon appeared in the Berliner Zeitung, depicting a flying Moshe Dayan, with his hands stretched out toward Gaza and Jerusalem. Next to him stood Adolf Hitler in an advanced state of decomposition. He encouraged Dayan with the words: "Carry on, colleague Dayan!"[5] In March 1968, the GDR spoke out in favor of "regaining the legitimate rights of the Arab-Palestinian people," advocating such positions well ahead of its ideological allies from Moscow.[6]

Since the early 1970s, East Germany cooperated with Arab countries and the

Hafiz al-Assad, who was at odds with Arafat. The GDR supported the PLO and later other Palestinian groups financially as well as with weapons, and also trained fighters.[8]

The SED notion of Zionism was summed up in an internal document compiled by the State Secretariat for Church Affairs in 1972 as a "reactionary-nationalist ideology of the Jewish big bourgeosie".[9]

The close cooperation between East Germany and the PLO was one reason why Israel objected to the GDR becoming a member of the UN in 1973.

General Assembly on September 18, 1973, that "Israel notes with regret and repugnance that the other German state (GDR) has ignored and continues to ignore Germany's historical responsibility for the Holocaust and the moral obligations arising from it. It has compounded the gravity of that attitude by giving support and practical assistance to the campaign of violence and murder waged against Israel and the Jewish people by Arab terror organizations".[11]

In the Yom Kippur War East Germany supplied Syria with 75,000 grenades, 30,000 mines, 62 tanks and 12 fighter jets.[12]

In 1975 East Germany voted in favour of U.N resolution condemning Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination. This was propagated by the East German media, with the teachers' union Deutsche Lehrezeitung asserting that "there is a common ideological platform between Zionism and Fascism. It is racism".[13] and articles condemning "aggressive and chauvinist Zionism".[14]

On June 22, 1990, the first freely elected

People's Chamber adopted a statement apologizing "in all form from the anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist policy practiced in this country for decades."[15]

East Germany stopped existing in 1990 with the German reunification.[16] The resultant Germany has a pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian foreign policy.[17][18][19] Germany told schools in Neukolln to distribute flyers calling the 1948 Nakba a myth.[20] By 2022, Germany had repatriated 82 billion euro to Israel.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "1967 | The Global Left and the Six-Day War". Fathom. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  2. ISSN 1520-3972
    .
  3. ISSN 1353-1042
    .
  4. ^ "Deciphering Germany's Pro-Israel Consensus". Institute for Palestine Studies. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  5. ^ J. H. Brinks, "Political Anti-Fascism in the German Democratic Republic", Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 32, No. 2, 1997, pg. 207-17.
  6. ^ a b Kinan, Jaeger. "Der "Staat Palästina": Herausforderung deutscher Außenpolitik". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  7. ^ Jewish Claims against East Germany: Moral Obligations and Pragmatic Policy, p.250-251
  8. ^ Kellerhoff, Sven Felix (2012-02-01). "Nahostkonflikt: Wie die DDR Waffen an Jassir Arafats PLO lieferte". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  9. ^ Timm 1997, p. 248.
  10. ^ Frommer, Frederic J. (2023-09-15). "50 years ago East Germany gained admission to the UN over one objection — Israel's". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  11. ^ Israel's struggle in the UN
  12. ^ Marc Fisher. "E. Germany Ran Antisemitic Campaign in West in ’60s", The Washington Post, February 28, 1993
  13. ^ Timm 1997, p.253.
  14. ^ Nations United: How the United Nations Undermines Israel and the West
  15. ^ "Vor 30 Jahren: Warum sich die DDR-Volkskammer bei Israel entschuldigte". Israelnetz (in German). 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  16. ^ "East Germany | historical nation, Germany | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  17. ^ Jegić, Denijal. "Why is Germany so viciously anti-Palestinian?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  18. ^ Al-Farooq, Timo (2023-12-22). "Masha Gessen: For Germany, never again is now except in Gaza". New Arab. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  19. ^ Salehi, Kumars (2023-12-17). "Germany's unprecedented crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  20. ^ "Germany: Berlin schools asked to distribute leaflet describing the 1948 Nakba as a 'myth'". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  21. ^ Amt, Auswärtiges. "Germany and Israel: Bilateral relations". German Federal Foreign Office. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
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