Israel's Image Problem in Germany

Having just returned from Israel, I decided to see what the Germans thought about the place. Conveniently enough, the German weekly stern just conducted a poll (g). The results:

• 70% of Germans think Israel 'pursues its own interests without consideration for other peoples' (11 points higher than in 2009).
• 59% describe the country as 'aggressive' (+10 since 2009)
• 58% find the country 'foreign' or 'alien' (fremd), 36% see it sympathetically
• 21% believe the country 'respects human rights' (down from 30% in 2009)
• 13% don't think it has a right to exist
• 60% believe Germany no longer has a special responsibility to Israel; only 33% believe it does
• 65% believe Germany should recognize the state of Palestine, 18% reject the idea.

That's a somewhat bleaker picture than I would have predicted. I don't see these negative perceptions of Israel as a 'problem'. People are going to think what they're going to think. Nor do I think they represent anti-Semitism, although that may explain some of the 13% who deny Israel's right to exist (some of these people may simply reject states based on ethnic/religious identity, but if that were true they'd need to start at home, since Germany offers automatic citizenship to many ethnic Germans (g) all across the world).

As with the massive unpopularity of America a few years back, a lot of this is driven by controversial policies and the press coverage they get. People thought America was aggressive and dangerous to world peace in the mid-2000s because it was. It had invaded and occupied 2 countries, and sinister fanatics such as Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton (really, is there any other way to describe them?) seemed to be just warming up. The news coverage out of Israel lately shows a government that is expanding settlements, constantly threatening to attack Iran, teaming up with terror groups to conduct car-bomb assassinations of Iranian engineers (imagine if that were happening in Germany!), has launched two wars in the past 6 years, and has as its foreign minister the remarkably repugnant Avigdor Lieberman.

Presumably the current Israeli administration believes these policies are necessary to protect the national interest, but they should prepare their citizens to live with the backlash. Like the United States, or any other country for that matter, Israel has no 'right' to be popular and admired regardless of what it does. Or in other words, no Israel, you can't have a pony, because in the real world, nobody gets a pony.

Comments

[_Josh]

@Cuneiform, 13.06.2012:
"Heim ins Reich"-Jew here, a (far more than less) proud German for more than 25 years now, practicing, and showing my religion as openly as I would in Israel.

I never ever faced a single incident, never, not even with my direct neighbours, one family of palestinian, one of iranian, and one of libanese origin -- on the contrary, my libanese neighbour who owns a fast food booth, gave me a discount on all of his dishes.

I do not know where your "knowledge" of Germans comes from, but it is certainly not based on facts -- well, at least it is not based on experiences with this german incurable "anti-Semitism-crap".

As you say ...treatment of the Palestinians is also often cited by Israel-critics..., I woud like to respond that your own "answer", I dare anyone (in Germany) to imagine what would happen if there was a small neighbouring country to Germany which would regularly attack Germany with improvised missiles. is nothing but propaganda.

OK, let's put some butter at/on/in/by the fishes, as we say over here, and name the small neighbouring country Luxembourg, I may :)? Of course, Germany would launch missiles back to attack the enemy positions, what would you have expected?

But on the other hand, and to draw a picture accordingly to the situation in Israel and its surrounding countries, Germany does not occupy land/ property in Luxembourg, it does not expand property illegaly on a daily basis, but instead, Germany is commited to international law, it does respect its neighbours rights, it does negotiat in a civilised manner -- usually. ;)

However, I do understand, and recognize, the special situation of Israel -- of course I do, some of my relatives decided to live there. However, I want you to realize that post WWII Germans are not only not-anti-Semitic (in general), they are simply deeply felt to the under dog.

Back to our posting: The first being whether this high level of anti-Semitism is really that specific to Germany... That ist simply rubbish, not more, not less.

... or whether a lower share of reporting in other countries could be "accidental" in some way.

There is quite a bunch of Israel-related stuff in German, but has no influence whatsoever on Israel's recognition over here. What really counts are "actions, not words" to paraphrase a common saying.

[Alex]

I am not sure whether the picture would have been much different if the term 'Israel' would have been exchanged with 'Palestine' or 'Arabs', at least for the first 4 questions. In the end, both sides try to pursue their interests agressively without caring much about the other.

[renke]

Marcellina: according to the article (you followed the link, yes?) the panel consisted of 1002 Bundesbürger, i.e. citizens of Germany

[Cuneiform]

That's a somewhat bleaker picture than I would have predicted. I don't see these negative perceptions of Israel as a 'problem'. [...] Nor do I think they represent anti-Semitism, [...]
I do: It is a problem and it is an expression of anti-Semitism.
Israels settlemenent policy *might* be aggressive but there is a large opposition to it within Israel so maligning the country sweepingly for it is not warranted.

The treatment of the Palestinians is also often cited by Israel-critics which is even worse on an intellectual and moral account. I dare anyone (in Germany) to imagine what would happen if there was a small neighbouring country to Germany which would regularly attack Germany with improvised missiles. Germany would surely defend against that. Israel has the added complication that its other neighbours offer only insecure peace. To me it is understandable that people are nervous considering this backdrop.

So current behaviour of the Isreaeli state can only be a weak reason for the attribution of largely negative traits to it and its inhabitants. Traditional anti-Semitism looks like a more likely explanation.

What I am unsure about is two things. The first being whether this high level of anti-Semitism is really that specific to Germany, or whether a lower share of reporting in other countries could be "accidental" in some way.

The second point being how deep those negative feelings really are. Sometimes, when I ran into people who expressed anti-Semitic stereotypes (which thankfully has been very rare) they have been willing to reconsider (at least by way of lip service) after so little as a 30 second rebuttal.

[Marcellina]

13% don't think it has a right to exist

I would be mildly curious to know if the persons polled were -Germans- or -people living in Germany-.