CATEGORY: Politics
03.04.2013
AUF & DAVON AUS DEUTSCHLAND (almost desperate slamery)
Ich bin auf und doch schon
noch nicht davon.
Ich soll vertrieben werden
von diesen Erden
in Deutschland,
zurück ins Meer,
geht es nach denen
und jenen,
die mich ‘ungläubig’ nennen
mich aber nicht kennen,
von diesen, die verrückt spielen,
auf mich zielen
mit ihren Hobbys.
Ich bin auf und doch noch nicht davon,
liege nicht mehr, aber schon aufgestanden,
den Schlüssel in der Hand,
die Schatten schon an der Wand,
die Tür auf schon einen Spalt,
noch ein letzter Halt,
aber doch schon
noch nicht davon.
Ich hab’ einen Schuh schon an einem Fuss,
einen Arm schon in der Jacke,
den Schal um den Hals
(wie eine Schlinge),
aber noch nicht gebunden -
den Weg haben sie noch nicht gefunden.
Ich bin auf, aber doch schon
noch nicht davon.
Soll ich gehen
oder stehen
bleiben,
darauf warten,
dass sie mich vertreiben
mit Waffen im Anschlag
und im Kopf die Messer,
ist es da nicht besser,
zu gehen auf & davon?
Ist das die Saat,
die aufgeht
und die Tat
der Augsteins
und
Polenz’
und
Grass’,
die Hass
mit letzter
oder
erster Tinte schreiben,
um zu bleiben,
um zu bestehen,
sich anzubiedern
an schießende Mädchen
zwischen den Berliner Stelen,
deren Schüsse mich nicht verfehlen
sollen wollen?
Die Saite ist gespannt,
aber nicht gestimmt.
Die Seite ist gelesen,
aber noch nicht umgeblättert.
Der Countdown erst bei Drei
und noch nicht vorbei,
doch die Wunde blutet schon unterm Verband
der deutschen Demokratie,
der letzten Hand
des verwehenden Atems auf der Zielgeraden
von Propagandapfaden.
Ich bin auf, aber doch schon
noch nicht davon.
Die Welle sieht das Ufer schon,
aber sie kann noch nicht brechen.
Noch kein Flammenmeer auch,
aber schon genügend Rauch.
Die Glocken schwingen,
die Scharniere singen,
doch es gibt noch kein Läuten dabei -
wie war das noch: Arbeit macht frei.
Ich werde ihnen
nicht das Feld überlassen,
ihrem Hassen,
ihrem Lachen,
ihrer Endlösung
meiner, unserer Verwesung,
nicht ihrem Zynismus,
ihrem Faschismus,
nicht ihrer Scheinheiligkeit,
nicht ihren Schatten der Zeit,
nicht ihrer Dummheit
noch ist es nicht soweit,
aber merkt euch:
Wir sind auf, aber längst nicht davon,
auf und nicht davon.
CATEGORIES: Antisemitism Frieden Politics Shoa
18.02.2013
What if Australian agents used Israeli passports?
Surprise surprise. The New York Times reports that the Hezbollah men who traveled to Burgas, Bulgaria to kill Israelis, did so by using Australian and Canadian passports, and they also carried fake Michigan IDs which were fabricated in Lebanon.
Now I know Australia is furious with Israel over the latter’s use of its passports. And apparently Israel promised Canberra that it wouldn’t do so again. Australia even expelled two Israeli diplomats after the Mabhouh affair, in which Mossad apparently used Australian passports. Will Australia now read the riot act to Hezbollah? Will Canada call in the Lebanese ambassador, who represents a government of which Hezbollah is a senior member?
I may be extremely naïve, but I can’t see why this would be necessary in this day and age. I understand the necessity of sovereignty and not putting Australian citizens traveling abroad in precarious situations, but as I see the global terror map, Israel and Australia are on the same side, with Hezbollah and its ilk on the other. So if everyone is using everyone else’s passports, why would the Australians give Israel so much stick over the use of its passports? The same goes for Canada. I understand that Australia and Canada don’t want their traveling citizens to be suspected of working for Mossad, and I feel their apprehension. I also see the inherent problem here for Australian Jews of being accused of dual loyalty. But what if this wasn’t even an issue? What if Australia and Israel’s security concerns and priorities dovetailed when it came to the war on terrorists? What if every Australian, Jewish and non-Jewish, understood that he or she stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel in this fight?
Surely Canberra and Jerusalem could come up with a modus vivendi that works for both countries, who are in the same boat against global Islamic terrorism.
What possible gain could Australia get by exposing Mossad operations against Iran and terror groups? Wouldn’t Australia benefit from the intelligence that Mossad gathers and the operations that it carries out? Doesn’t Australia have its own war to fight against Islamic terrorists? READ MORE
23.01.2013
Yair Lapid, Israel’s Obama?
For those of you who don’t know much about Lapid, here are a few insights into the leader of Yesh Atid, who looks like he will be THE big player on the Israeli political scene. Lapid is kingmaker to King Bibi.
Lapid says he knows Israeli politicians well from covering politics for many years as a journalist, and he’s “not afraid of them.” I wonder though about his staying power: just how much fight does this former amateur boxer have in him? Because listening to his fighting words, especially against the current political system and pretty much every single serving Israeli member of Knesset [especially the religious MKs but not just them], I predict that Yair Lapid is going to get into the fight of his life – whether he joins the next coalition or stays in the opposition. And it’s going to be a long and ugly fight, so it’s just as well that Lapid said he’s going into politics for the long run. “It’s my second career and there won’t be a third,” he says.
He says he’s going to be a good, thorough, and professional politician, that he’s going to take it extremely seriously, and stuck to his promise of not recruiting any serving Israeli MK into his new party.
Like US President Barack Obama when he ran for his first term, Lapid is someone who is banking on a message of change; change in the political system, change in the nation’s fiscal and social priorities, change in the education system, change to the rules of national burden: he promises that he will work for seismic changes to the national fabric of Israeli society: the ultra-Orthodox must serve in the army or national service and they must join the workforce etc.
But like Obama, Lapid may be creating too many expectations, and might suffer from this down the line when he’s faced with the harsh realities of the Israeli political system, and the expected economic downturn and massive budget cuts the next government will have to implement.
But for now, Yair Lapid is clearly enjoying himself. He’s enjoying “telling the truth” as opposed to politicians’ necessity of messaging and towing party lines. He’s enjoying motivating people and firing up the discontented secular middle class.
Like Obama’s first campaign, Lapid crowd-sourced his campaign, mostly on the Internet. His Facebook friends asked him questions, and he sat all night and answered them. I followed one of his staffer’s Instagram account, and I can tell you that Lapid held at least one parlor meeting every day somewhere in the country. Every day. READ MORE
CATEGORIES: Politics Social Culture Thoughts
22.01.2013
Israel’s election in 1 picture and 1 word: Bibinett
In my mind, the central theme of the 2013 Israeli elections was that there was no challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Within that context, all the main political battles that took place occurred within the political blocs: Yechimovich vs Lapid vs Livni; but more interestingly, between Netanyahu and Habayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett. The latter were canvassing for essentially the same voter base. And if the polls hold true, Bennett emerged victorious – even if he is not crowned prime minister. He will be a major player in the next governing coalition.
Why did Bennett do so well? How did he manage to take away so many votes from the Likud? And how did they succeed in attracting voters so distant from their traditional national religious Zionist base?
For one, Bennett modeled himself on Netanyahu, and that drove the prime minister absolutely up the wall. And talking about walls, take a look at the following two pictures, I think they speak volumes about the two men, and the battle they waged between them. READ MORE
CATEGORIES: Politics Social Culture Thoughts
12.01.2013
Israel: Not Jewish, not Democratic
Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we?
Looking ahead at 2013 and beyond, there are two distinct trends which I see that are coalescing into one unmistakable reality: Israel is not going to be either a Jewish or Democratic state down the line.
We’re not going to be democratic because there is very, very little chance we’re going to have a two-state deal with the Palestinians.
The way things are shaping up, our next government will likely be the most right-wing we’ve ever had here and its common denominator will be the annexation of large areas of the West Bank and ratification of a report which says that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are legal under international law. Whether you agree with this worldview or not, the fact is that most members of the next government are going to work to make this a reality.
The Palestinian leadership in the West Bank is the most ‘moderate’ we’re ever likely to have here and what’s depressing about that is that even the maximum that a moderate Israeli government is willing to give isn’t anywhere near the minimum the Palestinians are willing to accept. And since we’re not going to have a moderate government here for at least the next four years, the Palestinians are not going to get their demands. And after the ‘moderate’ Palestinians go, their successors will be much more extreme.
So there won’t be peace and there won’t be two states.
CATEGORIES: Politics Short Story Social Culture Thoughts
21.12.2012
A Jew and a Zhyd
Picture by pravda.com.ua
A Ukrainian-born American actress Mila Kunis could have become a real pride of the country and join a beautiful company of other Hollywood beauties of Ukrainian heritages (listing her namesake Mila Jovovich, Bond girl Olga Kurylenko and many more). Instead, she unwittingly became a part of a nationalistic provocation.
It’s not that Ms Kunis is not talented enough to be an example of a Ukrainian success story in Hollywood. It’s just that some people strongly believe that a person can only be either Ukrainian or Jewish. Mila belongs to the second group; hence, it’s Jewish people who can be proud of her if they wish, but not Ukrainians.
CATEGORIES: Antisemitism English Movie Politics
04.12.2012
Kosher frogs’ legs, or Israeli diplomacy
Recently, every time Israel has come under withering international approbation – usually for its settlement activity or rounds of retaliation against terrorists – the government reverts to the following line: “Loh naim, loh nora,” which translates loosely into: It’s not pleasant, but it’s not awful either.
When we lose a UN vote by 138 to 9, it’s not pleasant, but it’s not terrible either. We always lose UN votes. It could have been 147 to zero. But even then, it would be uncomfortable, but not catastrophic. When England, France, Sweden and Australia summon our ambassadors to read them the riot act, it’s not pleasant, but it’s also not so terrible. They could have recalled their ambassadors from Tel-Aviv, or even expelled our ambassadors. That would have been awful. But you know what? Awful is still OK; awful is not disastrous.
It’s not only international criticism though. Even internal reports that criticize the government’s handling of, say, road accidents, fires, school exam results, are all met with “loh naim, loh nora.”
It’s not great, but it’s not too bad. In other words, it could be worse. In other words, it can always be worse, so this is no big deal. It sure feels like it’s getting worse, but things really are not so bad.
According to this thinking, when things get worse, they still won’t be really bad. When things get worse, and things really seem to be getting worse here, the government will say “it’s bad, but not terrible.”
“Listen, things are really bad, but they’re not catastrophic. OK, ok, things are catastrophic, but they’re not disastrous. Wow, this is a disaster, but you know what, we’ve had it worse, so it’s really not so bad. We overcame Pharaoh, we’ll overcome this too. It’s bad, but it’s not the end of the world. The sky falling is bad? Sure but it could be worse: it could be the end of the world.” READ MORE
CATEGORIES: Politics Short Story Social Culture Thoughts War
16.10.2012
Explaining Israeli elections through popular TV shows
Person of Interest Aryeh Deri of Shas is Prison Break – making a comeback to the political party he led thirteen years ago after a long stint in prison for financial corruption. But first he has to push current leader Eli Yishai aside.
Yishai, a hardliner on asylum seekers, refugees, and anybody else who is not ultra-Orthodox Jewish, will say and do anything to keep his position, so he’s Lie To Me.
Together, Deri and Yishai are Supernatural; just like the party they’re in.
Olmert, convicted on charges of corruption, is the Sopranos.
Many in the legal and academic institutions in Israel see the return of Deri and Olmert as the season of Criminal Minds.
Current Kadima chief and Leader of the Opposition Shaul Mofaz is Walking Dead, because Kadima is not expected to survive the coming elections. READ MORE
CATEGORIES: English Politics Short Story Thoughts
05.09.2012
BESCHNEIDUNG OHNE ENDE
Endlich ist der Traum eines jeden in Erfüllung gegangen, der die Juden in Deutschland für fehl am Platze hält, sich aber bisher nicht getraut hat, das laut zu sagen. Man möchte ja bloß nicht politisch unkorrekt erscheinen oder sich gar mit Antisemitismusvorwürfen konfrontiert sehen. Aber das alles hat jetzt G*tt sei Dank endlich ein Ende. Jetzt kann man lustig auf die Juden und ihre ‘barbarische Religion’ eindreschen, ohne dass etwas passiert. Im Gegenteil, man wird auch noch als Verteidiger der “körperlichen Unversehrtheit von Kindern” gefeiert und bejubelt. Halleluja!
Es ist ein Alptraum, wie in dieser Debatte judenfeindliche Ressentiments hochgekocht werden. Schaut man sich in den sogenannten sozialen Netzwerken um, dann begegnen einem Meinungen, die direkt aus dem Stammbuch des Reichspropagandaministers abgeschrieben zu sein scheinen: “Soll der Jude (sic!) doch dahin gehen, wo er hergekommen ist”, oder, auch schön und sinnerhellend: “Broder und seinen Zionistenkumpanen geht’s endlich an den Kragen.”
Mal davon abgesehen, dass Juden in Deutschland länger existieren als die Deutschen, nämlich ungefähr seit 1700 Jahren, die Deutschen aber erst nach der Völkerwanderung tatsächlich Deutschland ausformten, mal abgesehen davon, dass es in den vergangenen 63 Jahren in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland keinen ‘Schwanz’ interessiert hat, welche religiösen Rituale vollzogen oder nicht vollzogen werden, weiter abgesehen davon, dass wir hier von einem Land reden, in dem Kinderarmut immer weiter um sich greift und Kinder sogar, trotz des unfassbaren Reichtums, Hunger leiden müssen, Eltern die körperliche Züchtigung ihrer Kinder nicht verboten ist, Säuglinge und Kleinkinder in Mülltonnen und Blumenkästen entsorgt werden, niemand dafür bestraft wird, wenn er in Gegenwart von Kindern raucht, noch mal davon abgesehen, dass geistliche Würdenträger der christlichen Religionen sich über Jahrzehnte an Kindern vergriffen und mit lächerlich milden Strafen letztendlich davon gekommen sind, von alldem abgesehen, wird diese haarsträubende Debatte dazu missbraucht, Juden mal wieder als ‘Täter’ zu brandmarken. Dass man den Muslimen bei der Gelegenheit auch mal eins auf die Mütze geben kann, einfach mal so als Präventivmaßnahme, kann da nur willkommen sein. Und der angenehme Nebeneffekt dabei ist, dass muslimischer Antisemitismus mitgefördert wird, wie die Übergriffe auf einen Rabbiner und eine jüdische Mädchenklasse in Berlin zeigen.
CATEGORIES: Antisemitism Politics Religion Social Culture
02.09.2012
The repressed story of the Austrian railway
The express night train from Vienna to Prague was supposed to leave at 23:15. But in the evening of March 11th 1938 at 20:00, thousands of people were pushing each other, squeezing themselves into the train while demanding to depart immediately. Suddenly, the S.A troops showed up with their whips, drunk from victory and eager for revenge. One by one, they went from wagon to wagon, pulling men, women and children back to the platform, leading them to prison (reconstructed and non original version)
This is how George Eric Gedye, a British journalist, described the events in Vienna’s in the evening before the famous “Anschluss”, the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany.
This was also the evening that changed the history of the Austrian railway company.
