Last month, the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, passed a resolution that unequivocally declared the “argumentation patterns and methods” of BDS to be “anti-Semitic.” This resolution jeopardizes the ability of critics of Israel to speak openly about Israel in the German public sphere.
The New Israel Fund responded to these developments by publishing an article by NIF chairman in Germany, Ofer Waldman, responding to the problematic climate of critical debate by writing an article entitled “Israel’s Abuse and Misuse of the Word ‘Anti-Semitism.’”
But when the Jewish Museum in Berlin tweeted a letter of opposition to the resolution, signed by 240 Jewish and Israeli academics, the Israeli Embassy in Berlin and the leadership of the Jewish community attacked the museum’s director, Professor Peter Schaefer. As a result, he resigned.
NIF President David N. Myers responded to Peter Schaefer resignation with an article in German entitled “Something is Terribly Wrong.” It was originally published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in German. Below are excerpts in English:
“It is understandable why sensitivities would be heightened in the current environment of rising anti-Jewish expression and action. But to tar Professor Peter Schaefer with the brush of anti-Semitism defies credulity. He has devoted his entire and brilliant professional career to shedding light on Jewish history and culture from antiquity to the modern age.”
“His case reveals that something has gone terribly awry. There is a growing and dangerous impulse to equate BDS with anti-Semitism. This is a tremulous and troubling time in Germany—and in Europe at large. There are grave dangers at work, particularly the rise of ‘illiberal democracy’ reflected in groups such as the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany.”
“I oppose BDS, but do not believe that expressing support for it should be proscribed. One must engage in these struggles without succumbing to extreme measures that erode robust democratic principles. These measures, hinted at in the Bundestag’s resolution, can create a wider ambience of conformism that discourages not only free speech, but the kind of cultural and artistic innovation that has been a hallmark of Germany in its most enlightened eras.”
“The resignation of Peter Schaefer as director of the Jewish Museum sends a further ominous message about the potency of the current illiberal moment. We should not fail to take note of the warning signs. At the same time, we should recognize that there is another alternative for Germany which follows the path of discernment, openness, equality, and liberal democracy.”