Germany’s Ramallah mission apologises for endorsing Klansman's anti-Jewish tweets

Episode embarrasses Berlin with anti-Semitic crime rising

epa07729224 German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a commemoration service for the 75th anniversary of the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler by the German anti-Nazi resistance, at the Bendlerblock in Berlin, Germany, 20 July 2019. The anniversary commemorates the members of the resistance, led by Claus von Stauffenberg, who were arrested and executed after a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler that took place on 20 July 1944. Von Stauffenberg was executed in the Bendlerblock courtyard.  EPA/FELIPE TRUEBA
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Germany’s mission in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah has apologised for endorsing an anti-Semitic tweet.

The Berlin government is grappling with balancing its unease about Israeli policies and eager accommodation of Iran with a rise of anti-Semitic crime at home.

On June 18, the Berlin newspaper Bild reported that 'Germany in Ramallah', the official Twitter account of the German Representative Office in the Palestinian Territories, had endorsed Twitter material involving Holocaust denier David Duke by 'liking' the tweets.

It hinted that the Israel’s meticulous documentation of the Holocaust, in which six-million Jews died, is fabricated, and that Israel would occupy the Moon if it reaches there.

The head of the mission, Christian Clages, admitted that “a number of anti-Semitic messages were liked" via the account.

“We repudiate such messages in the strongest terms. We sincerely apologise and will ensure that this misconduct cannot be repeated in the future,” Mr Clages said on Twitter on Tuesday.

However, he placed no specific blame on members of his team as the German Federal Foreign Office said up to 20 people had access to the Germany in Ramallah account.

Christian Clages, neuer Botschafter im Libanon (Beirut), aufgenommen am 28.08.2013 in Berlin. Photo by: Jörg Carstensen/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Diplomat Christian Clages, head of the German mission in Ramallah, who has described endorsement of Jewish-hating tweets by his office as “misconduct”. AP

It was the second high-profile episode this year relating to perceived anti-Jewish action by organisations linked to the German government.

In June, Peter Schafer, head of Berlin’s Jewish museum resigned after his office appeared to endorse on Twitter a German newspaper article condemning a German parliament resolution in May that termed as anti-Semitic the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, known as the BDS movement. The campaign seeks economic sanctions on Israel in return for what it regards as Palestinian rights.

A major exhibition at the museum on Jerusalem, which ended in April, was criticised as one-sided, in favour of the Palestinians.

Der Direktor der Jüdischen Museums Berlin, Peter Schäfer, begrüßt am 14.11.2015 in Berlin im Jüdischen Museum seine Gäste zur Verleihung des Preises für Verständigung und Toleranz. Dem US-Amerikanischen Politiker und Gründungsdirektor des Jüdischen Museums, W. Michael Blumenthal, war am Abend der Preis für Verständigung und Toleranz verliehen worden. Der Menschenrechts- und Toleranzpreis wird vom Jüdischen Museum seit 2002 verliehen. Photo by: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Peter Schäfer, head of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, who resigned in June 2019 following another controversy involving action perceived as promoting anti-Semitism. AP 

Supporters of Hezbollah and Iran are rife in BDS, which divided the German intelligentsia, with some saying the movement is a tool of Iranian-backed militants espousing the destruction of Israel while others regard it as legitimate pressure to curb Israeli violations of Palestinian rights.

Germany has been spearheading European efforts for accommodation of Tehran’s clerical rulers, with the stated aim of preserving the 2015 nuclear deal from which the US withdrew in May last year. Berlin has vigorously pursued business ties with Tehran before and invited Iranian delegations to Berlin.

The German government has also refrained from placing Iranian-backed Shiite militias, whose hatred of Israel is at the core of their creed, as terrorists, arguing that they have representatives in the Lebanese and Iraqi parliaments.

The German Interior Ministry said in May that anti-Semitic crimes in Germany rose 20 per cent last year, mostly committed by admirers of the far right.

The crimes centred on hate speech, graffiti and banned swastika signs. Of the 1,800 incidents in 2018, 90 per cent were blamed on supporters of far-right groups.

The statistics, as well as the latest controversies, are set to fuel an Israeli diplomatic and lobbying effort already underway in Berlin.

It aims at curbing what the Israeli government regards as excessive criticism of Israel by the Berlin government and the influential circles of German research institutions and academia that had ignored what Israeli regards as Palestinian terrorism, as well as the downplaying of the Iranian nuclear threats.