Olaf Scholz shouldn’t be reading Israeli newspapers these days. “Not even the Shoah can guarantee Germany’s commitment to Israel today,” is the title of an analysis by the influential Haaretz newspaper about the scandal in the Chancellery.
“The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz failed miserably in his ultimate test on home soil,” the newspaper summed up.
When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke in Berlin about the “50 Holocausts” that Israel is said to have committed against the Palestinians, Scholz simply remained silent. “Cameras were trained on his face, hoping to draw a condemnation, a dismissal, or at least a sour face. But he stood there. Blinked and said nothing.”
The chancellor is trying to correct this picture, to repair the damage. In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid, he once again condemned Abbas’ performance. During the conversation, the chancellor emphasized “that he sharply condemns every attempt to deny or relativize the Holocaust,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Thursday in Berlin.
Hebestreit had previously assumed responsibility for the botched press conference because, after Abbas’ statements, he ended it and did not give the chancellor the floor again.
The SPD, on the other hand, refers to Scholz’s lack of quick-wittedness in such situations. There is also criticism that Abbas was given such a stage in the Chancellery shortly before the 50th anniversary of the Olympic attack on Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in Munich.
Lea Rosh, chairwoman of the support group for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, sharply criticized the chancellor: “It is not enough to simply shift the responsibility onto his spokesman, even if he declared the press conference to be over. The Chancellor himself should have reacted. The fact that he didn’t do that is inexcusable.” Germany should no longer finance an autonomous authority “that puts the Holocaust into perspective and compares Israel with Nazi Germany”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Jair Lapid is himself the son of a Holocaust survivor. Abbas’ statements in Berlin were unbearable and completely unacceptable for Scholz personally and for the entire federal government, Scholz emphasized in the phone call with him. Keeping alive the memory of the breach of civilization caused by the Shoah is an ongoing responsibility of this and every federal government.
The Federal Chancellor and Lapid also exchanged views on the current situation in the Near and Middle East region. Both had also agreed to meet soon in person in Berlin.
The 86-year-old Abbas backtracked, affirming that the Holocaust was “the most heinous crime in modern human history.” But the damage is enormous. Abbas has long been a welcome guest on international stages. There, his role in the Middle East peace process and his commitment to a two-state solution with Israel were in the foreground. However, the peace process has been idle since 2014.
The Israeli government under Naftali Bennett and now Jair Lapid initially tried to improve contact with Abbas. In particular, Secretary of Defense Benny Gantz has met with him several times since December to promote confidence-building measures.
Then in July Prime Minister Lapid phoned Abbas. It was the first direct conversation between Abbas and an Israeli prime minister in years. But now it’s ice age again.
In a few months, Israel will also elect a new parliament. The right-wing conservative party of ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is already warning of “compulsive” cooperation with a “Holocaust denier”.
