AN AMERICAN JEWISH GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION NEWSLETTER

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AMERICAN EDITION
December 2014
IN THIS EDITION
THE GURLITT MESS: A VIDEO The complicated art looting case explained in a video
A NEW JEWISH LEADER The Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat) gets a
new leader.
ANOTHER NEW LEADER: TOUGHER SURROUNDINGS The usually anti-Israel UN
Human Rights Council also gets a new leader. Surprise! A German diplomat.
THE BOSS STAYS PUT The Chancellor looks primed to try for a 4th term.
HILLEL This campus organization comes to Germany.
THE LEFT PARTY (DIE LINKE): THE PAST & THE PRESENT Can the past be
forgotten or, at least, forgiven?
THE EXTREME RIGHT It focuses on Islamization. What next?
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN The anti-extreme right.

Dear Friends:
If I wait until the end of the month to get the December issue out to you I fear that it will
end up with all the junk Christmas offers one finds in ones e-mail these days. Hopefully
it wont end up in the Delete pile before you even get a chance to peruse it.
We are right in the middle of the Hanukkah. This wonderful holiday of lights bucks right
up against Christmas and all that goes with it. It can be a difficult time for Jews
especially if youre trying to differentiate between the two holidays for your children.
Israel Hayom recently ran a piece on the situation in Berlin. It noted, Jews outside the
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United States also deal with this duplication of holidays. Take Berlin, for example, which
in recent months has become a symbol of the blurring of Jewish identity after the protest
over the price of Milky pudding snacks. According to estimates, 90 percent of the Jews
living in Berlin, which has one of the largest concentrations of Jews in Europe (30,000),
celebrate both holidays.
There is not much closeness to Jewish tradition in Berlin. The reason is that the Jews
who live there have been living there for decades. Either that, or they are Israelis,
mostly secular and from the left side of the political spectrum, who were not particularly
close to religious observance even before they left Israel. The local rabbi, Shmuel
Segal, explains: "The German word for Christmas is Weihnachten. Some people
celebrate the two holidays together and call them 'Weihnukka.'"
Segal continues: "There was a big uproar two years ago when the Jewish Museum in
Berlin mounted a whole exhibition entitled Weihnukka. It was very painful for us. Still,
we always look at the glass as being half full -- a formal candlelighting ceremony is
going to be held this year at Brandenburg Gate, one of the most central places in Berlin,
with a special menorah dozens of meters high. The mayor, the Israeli ambassador in
Germany and the German minister of the interior will be in attendance.
"So there will be a menorah on one side and a fir tree on the other, at the same height,
and the Jews will be in the middle. Here, too, it's possible to see the glass as half full -we are Jews, such a tiny minority in the world compared to Christians, and yet both
these symbols will be standing next to one another equally."
Segal adds, "You can't force Jews to celebrate Hanukkah only. That's not our way." Yet
again, he points to the half-full glass. "There are many Jews who celebrate Hanukkah
and put a fir tree in their homes. But still, we can say up front that Jewish identity is
actually getting stronger here in Berlin. More synagogues are being opened, and the
trend is a positive one. I am sure that this year, more households will be lighting the
Hanukkah candles than bringing home fir trees."
No one ever said it was easy to be Jewish.
Having focused on the problems this season brings to some, I think we should now dote
more about the goodness of the season. In both Germany and the United States there
always seems to be more in the way of positive feelings about others at this time of the
year. In addition, we have the next year to look forward to and the realization that we
somehow made through another twelve-month period.
So, in closing let me wish my Jewish readers a bright Hanukkah and to my Christian
friends a very Merry Christmas. To all, no matter whom or what you follow and no
matter how you view the world, I hope you will have a very healthy and Happy New
Year. .
2015? Bring it on!
THE GURLITT MESS: A VIDEO
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For some months I have been reporting on the treasure trove of art masterpieces, many
of which were looted from Jewish families by the Nazis, that were found in the
possession of one Cornelius Gurlitt. When this monumental find came to light, the major
question was, Who do they belong to? The German governments Culture Minister
Monika Gruetters began a process
Legal cases were filed but before any resolution could be found, Mr. Gurlitt
inconveniently (for him and everyone else) died. In his will he left the entire collection to
the Art Museum in Bern Switzerland. Relatives of Gurlitt sued and the Museum wasnt
even sure that they wanted the paintings plus the aggravation that went along with
them. Of course, the Jewish organization (Claims Conference) entered in order to look
out for the interests of the heirs of the Jewish families involved.
The Bern Museum finally agreed to receive the paintings. An agreement was signed
with the German government assuring that all attempts would be made to locate and
restore ownership to the heirs of the rightful owners.
Needless to say its complicated. In order to shed a little light on it DW prepared a video
which might explain some of the situation. I have the feeling that the solution to this
mess is still a long way off.
The video might help in understanding the matter. You can see it by clicking here.
http://www.dw.de/gurlitts-complicated-legacy/av-18101960
A BBC piece may also help. Click here to see it.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30176190
A NEW JEWISH LEADER
The presidency of the Zentralrat (Central Council of Jews in Germany) has passed into
new hands.
DW reported, Josef Schuster is a doctor with a passion. As well as working in his
practice, the physician from the southern German city of Wrzburg in Bavaria, is also
involved in voluntary ambulance and lifeguard services. Recently, a lifeboat was even
named "Josef" in his honor. Now a new challenge awaits Schuster. On Sunday in
Frankfurt, he was elected as the new president of the Central Council of Jews in
Germany (ZdJ).
He doesn't like it at all, however, when conversation touches the subject of the
relationship between Jews and Germans. "That always makes my blood pressure rise a
little," said the doctor. "Such phrasing would imply that Jews aren't Germans."
Moderate and integrate

Schuster considers one of the biggest challenges within Jewish communities in

Germany to be the different trends. In some cities, for example, there is a divide
between orthodox and liberals. Schuster supports diversity, but would appreciate it if
these trends could coexist under one roof. Frankfurt is a positive example of this. In the
city's Westend Synagogue there is a traditional place of worship as well as a liberal
church with a female Rabbi on another floor. [Ed. Note: I wouldnt call it a church.
Maybe the translator erred].
In Wrzburg Schuster is chairman of a traditional orthodox community but, as he made
clear in an interview with Deutschland radio, he does not consider himself to be an
orthodox Jew. For Schuster an orthodox Jew is someone who "really constantly wears a
cap [and] maybe even has side locks." He finds this in no way a negative thing, but
would rather call himself traditional.
The ongoing integration of numerous immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe and the
countries of the former Soviet Union into Germany, which increased particularly in the
1990s, is also a concern for Schuster. "Of course, it is also a challenge if a minority
wants to integrate into a majority." Overall, however, Jewish life in Germany has
benefited from immigration. In his own community, numbers have risen from 200 to over
1000.
Highlighting life's happy side
Schuster is now looking to the future. "The Holocaust will never be forgotten - Jewish
people carry it in their hearts. But God knows, it isn't only the memory of the Holocaust
that makes Jewish life. It also has very life-affirming, fun-loving aspects," Schuster said
in an interview with German public broadcaster MDR. And now he wants to emphasize
this in his work.
He is therefore seeking anything but a commemorative role. "For me, it would be best if
people later said: 'He definitely didn't remind!' But I'm afraid that will remain a dream,"
he told a Cologne-based daily. He described the fear of many Jews of anti-Semitic
trends in society using a medical analogy: "Anyone who has had pneumonia once,
gives each cough greater importance."
Unintended presidency
Like his predecessor, Dieter Graumann, Schuster didn't live through the era of National
Socialism in Germany. He was born in 1954 in Haifa, Israel, after his parents fled the
Nazis in 1938. When he was two years old his family returned to Wrzburg. There he
attended the same school as his father, before studying medicine. Schuster has been
active in the ZdJ for the past 15 years - most recently as vice-president. He would have
liked to have remained Graumann's deputy, but after Graumann surprisingly stepped
down, Schuster is now in the spotlight.
Rumored to have particularly good time management, Schuster wants to remain faithful
to his profession as a doctor and is approaching the balancing act of his practice in
Wrzburg and the Central Council in Berlin somewhat optimistically.
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I do not personally know Dr. Schuster but he certainly sounds like the sort of
enlightened and liberal person the Jewish community of Germany needs. How he can
do the job as a part time president is a question that he will have to answer himself.
Each and every new such leader brings his or her own complement of personal
strengths and abilities to the position. Frequently they only emerge after the person has
been sitting in the chair for a while. Leadership in the Zentralrat is anything but easy.
The President must deal with the leadership of the local communities most of whom
have Russian immigrants as a majority of members. In addition, the President must
represent the Jews of Germany to the German government from which much of its
funding emanates. Over and above all of that, the President is the personal
representative to the entire world, including the rest of the Jewish world, of his
constituents.
Its a tough job. We wish Dr. Schuster well and offer our congratulations.

ANOTHER NEW LEADER: TOUGHER SURROUNDINGS

There is not a tougher international organization from which Israel can ever get a break
than the UNHRC. Over the years, the UNs Human Rights Council seems to be the
prize winner when it comes to Israel bashing. Both its appointed staff and political
leadership have spent and inordinate amount of time lambasting Israel mostly so their
own violations of human rights dont make it to the floor for discussion. Its President
usually goes along with the grossly unfair attacks on the Jewish State.
However, just recently a strange thing happened on the way to its presidency. DW
reported, Thomas Rcker will take the reins as president of the UN Human Rights
Council in 2015. The economist by training had served as Germany's envoy to the
United Nations until his appointment to the new post at UNHRC.
Speaking to the German press agency DPA, Rcker said that the UNHRC raised hopes
for human rights when the body was first created in 2006. However, the status of the
rights of human beings today, leaves much to be desired.
Rcker said he would like to strengthen the role of the UNHRC. "I want to advocate for
a stronger participation by civil society in the work of the body and to promote a culture
in which there is neither place for intimidation nor threats against the civil society."
The international rights campaigner also spoke about wartime abuses in Syria, saying
that the UN had transferred such cases to the International Court of Justice. In very
serious cases of abuse, the UNHRC in Geneva has been successful in collecting
evidence to make offenders accountable for rights violations, Rcker told DPA.
The German diplomat also spoke about the controversial "agenda item 7" of the
UNHRC regarding Israel's rights violations during this summer's conflict in Gaza, in
which more than 2,000 people were killed. The "agenda item 7" states that the UNHRC
must discuss Israel's abuses in Gaza every time it convenes. Israel opposes the
decision, arguing that it is the only country to be subjected to the rule.
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In October, the EU and several countries decided to walk out of UNHRC sessions that
singled out Israel as a rights violator, angering Arab nations that wanted to highlight the
state of people living in the Gaza Strip.
Rcker confessed that he wouldn't be able to change the structure of the UNHRC, but
that he would like to ensure that no party "abuses the council's mandate."
Rcker, the mayor of the south German town Sindelfingen until 2014, also served in
Germany's Foreign Ministry and was appointed special envoy of the UN secretarygeneral and chief of the UN's interim mission in Kosovo.
Im not ready as yet to jump up and down with glee because a German diplomat will be
heading the Council. His training and background tell me that he might turn out to be
less inclined to go along with expected Israel bashing. However, the Council itself has
such a lousy record and structure that he might be handcuffed as to how much he might
be able to do.
Well just have to wait and see - and hope for the best.

THE BOSS STAYS PUT

Since the outcome of the last German election when Angela Merkel was returned to
office as Chancellor, I thought that this might be her swansong and that she would
begin the process of bringing along someone else in the CDU Party to eventually take
her place. Judging by the recent meeting of the Party this does not seem to be the case.
DW recently reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been reelected as head
of Germany's ruling party. The results show just how confident the Christian Democrats
are in their powerful leader.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Germany's ruling conservative party, has once
again shown its unwavering support for Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday as she
was elected party leader for the eighth consecutive time at the party conference in
Cologne. According to German news agency dpa, only 30 of the 919 delegates voted
against her.
Merkel was elected by a staggering 97.7 percent, though even that doesn't beat her
record of 97.9 percent in 2012. Indeed, in her eight elections since 2000, the lowest
backing she has ever received was 88.4 percent in 2004.
Merkel thanked her party for the "overwhelming vote of confidence" after the results
were announced.
'The world is waiting'
Before the vote, Chancellor Merkel gave a 60 minute speech which she used to defend
her tough fiscal stance, pointing out that her government has introduced the first
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balanced budget in 46 years, which is one of her proudest achievements since being
elected to a third term as chancellor last year.
She also spoke about the need to foster entrepreneurship in Germany: "Young
entrepreneurs should be helped not only in the United States but also in Europe,"
adding "the world is waiting for us," at the end of her speech, for which her fellow party
members gave her a 10-minute standing ovation.
Merkel also blasted grand coalition partners the Social Democrats (SPD) in her speech,
calling their decision to partner with the Left and Green parties in the eastern state of
Thuringia "bankrupt" and praising former coalition partners the Free Democrats (FDP),
another conservative party that did not make the required 5 percent of the vote to gain
seats in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in last year's election.
The next election is (I think) about 2 years from now so there is plenty of time for Fr.
Merkel to start the stepping-aside process that is necessary if she doesnt intend to run
again. She is already in her third term. However, power is difficult to give up especially
when one is so deeply ensconced. My guess is that if she decides to do the FDR thing
and run for a fourth term there is nothing to stop her. However, the world and its politics
have a funny way of changing so who can tell what will happen.
BTW, in 1940 when I was only an eight years old I made my first political projection. I
told all that would listen to me that the Republican candidate Wendell Willkie would beat
FDR for the presidency. He lost 449-82 in the Electoral College. My record since hasnt
been much better so Im not making any projections at the moment.

HILLEL
I think most American Jews, at least those who have had some connection to a college
or university, know about Hillel. No, not the great teacher and Jewish leader but, rather,
according to their website, the largest Jewish student organization in the world. Ive
always thought they focused only on American university campuses but I guess theyre
more world oriented than I thought. In any case, Hillel is coming to Germany.
According to The Jerusalem Post, The International Jewish campus organization Hillel
has expanded its global footprint into Germany, Austria and Switzerland to strengthen
Jewish identity, Jewish life and build identification with Israel.
The move is a natural partnership, Hillels CEO Eric Fingerhut on Thursday told The
Jerusalem Post. The need to strengthen Jewish identity is apparent because of a new
generation with different issues.
Fingerhut, who was in Berlin to launch the central European network, said Germany has
a sizable number of Jewish college students who were born in the former Soviet Union
or whose parents are immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe. Noting that Hillel
just celebrated 20 years in Moscow, Fingerhut said its, therefore, natural for the
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organization to operate in Germany.

Fingerhut, who served as a US congressman from Ohio from 1993 to 1994, has broad
experience in the field of higher education in that states public education system.
Everything in my life has led to this moment my public service, my work on campuses
and research centers across Ohio, and my lifelong devotion to Israel and the Jewish
people. And so I couldnt be more thrilled, Fingerhut said when he joined Hillel in 2013.
Hillels college activities will cover Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Mnster, Hamburg,
Dsseldorf, Stuttgart and Potsdam.
The city of Basel in Switzerland and Vienna in Austria will be part of the new Hillel
program.
The program in central Europe formed a partnership with the Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich
Scholarship Fund (ELES) and will bring Jewish and pro-Israel programming to more
than 1,000 students a 150 percent increase over the 400 students presently served by
ELES alone.
The German government also supports the programming.
The Hillel expansion comes at a time of rising European anti-Semitism. In early
October, an anniversary poster celebrating 20 years of Jewish studies at the University
of Potsdam was vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti. Next to the anniversary statement
Jewish studies for the 21 Century someone wrote Jews??? I thought we exterminated
them.
Asked about the anti-Semitism and the safety factor for Jewish students, Fingerhut said
that is part of the reason to be in Germany to create a strong Jewish identity, first and
foremost.
Some of the student leaders reached out to Hillel to counter manifestations of antiSemitism and develop Jewish identity, he said.
I think its a great move. For purposes of transparency, I was not only a Hillel member
while a student at the University of Kentucky but for a year the President of our Chapter.
It did a lot for me though I believe it will serve a different purpose in Germany. Coming
from a Jewish cocoon in the Bronx, my Kentucky experience taught me what it was to
live as a minority member. For students in Germany who already live as a very small
minority, they will (hopefully) learn more about their heritage and, most importantly,
have a meeting place with other Jewish students.
In addition, the development of another Jewish organization in Germany can only be a
positive. One can only wish them well.

THE LEFT PARTY (DIE LINKE): THE PAST & THE PRESENT
In the last issue I reported on the fact that the for the first time the Left Party would not
only become a partner in a State government (Thuringia) but a Party member would
become the Minister President (Governor). Given the Partys connection to the former
East Germany (DDR), it has a lot of negative baggage still weighing it down. Their name
identifies their political leanings.
According to DW, .The Left party reorganized itself, changed its name and asked the
public for forgiveness. But as the successor to East Germany's communist party, it can't
seem to shake its past.
A planned state coalition in Thuringia to be led by the Left party, the Social Democrats
and the Greens only has a one-seat majority in the newly elected parliament. That put
the focus on lawmaker Frank Kuschel.
The issue: Kuschel was an informer (IM) for the former East Germany's Stasi secret
police
As the Left party's national prominence increases with its leadership of a state
government for the first time, the shadow of the Stasi looms ever larger over the entire
party - including state leader Bodo Ramelow, who actually hails from western Germany.
Kuschel's position among top Left party politicians in Thuringia has also sparked a
debate about the presence of former Stasi informers among the party's members.
Opposition has also come from Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD), which will
be a junior member in the Thuringia governing coalition. Stephan Hilsberg, a founding
member of the Social Democratic Party in the DDR, a party that would later merge with
the West German SPD, said coalitions with the Left would always be subject to major
debate. "With its responsibility for Stalinism, the Wall, barbed wire, political criminal
laws, dictatorship and millions of refugees, the Left will never become a normal party in
Germany," he wrote in a statement.
German President Joachim Gauck, a former preacher who worked to support civil rights
in the former East Germany, questioned whether the Left had left behind its roots in the
Socialist Unity Party, the party that ruled East Germany.
"Is the Left party really far enough away from then beliefs that the SED [Socialist Unity
Party,] once had regarding the oppression of the people for us to fully trust them?" he
asked.
The leaders of the Left Party claim that they have dramatically changed and that former
Stasi informers will not be given leadership positions. However, the memory of its
connection still remains. The major question I have is whether they will be able to
cleanse themselves sufficiently when the national election rolls around in a couple of
years. Will they be kosher enough for the Social Democrats to include them in a

government coalition should a left leaning government be able to get a majority in the
Bundestag and, therefore, be in line to capture the Chancellorship.
Stay tuned!

THE EXTREME RIGHT

Now that weve taken care of the left, how about the extreme right? I dont think there is
any question that in the last few years politics in Europe have swung to the right.
Economically solid Germany is not exempt.
Thelocal.de recently reported, German police have noted a significant rise in far-right
extremism and attacks targeting foreigners, a news report said Sunday, amid national
debate about a new Islamophobic movement.
The trend is seen as a backlash against a sharp increase in refugees arriving in
Germany, Europe's biggest economy and top destination for asylum-seekers and other
migrants.
"We're seeing a significant nationwide increase in xenophobic offences," Federal
Criminal Police Office chief Holger Muench told an interior ministers conference last
week, the Welt am Sonntag reported, citing participants.
Germany's domestic security agency estimates there are almost 22,000 far-right
extremists, more than a quarter of them neo-Nazis, in the country. About 10,000 are
considered potentially militant.
In the eastern state of Saxony, the number of anti-foreigner crimes has reached 179, up
from 152 the previous year and the highest level in over a decade, the newspaper
reported.
The state capital of Dresden is the birthplace of a swelling protest movement called
"Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident", or PEGIDA, which drew
over 10,000 people last Monday.
The marches have been dominated not by shaven-headed neo-Nazis but by
disenchanted citizens with a host of grievances, many waving German flags and
chanting nationalistic slogans.
News weekly Spiegel reported that three PEGIDA organisers have criminal records and
that the group has drawn support from the neo-Nazi and far-right football hooligan
movements.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokeswoman Friday condemned PEGIDA and its smaller
clones in half a dozen German cities, saying "there is no place in Germany for
Islamophobia or anti-Semitism, hatred of foreigners or racism".
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The small but growing anti-euro party Alternative for Germany (AfD), represented in
three eastern state assemblies and the European parliament, has meanwhile voiced
sympathy for the demonstrators.
The AfD's Bernd Lucke told the Berliner Zeitung am Sonntag newspaper: "There is an
Islamist ideology that glorifies violence, discriminates against women and questions our
legal system. When citizens rebel against that, it is right and proper."
A majority of Germans are at least open to some of the views voiced by PEGIDA and
the right-wing AfD, according to a poll for news weekly Spiegel by the TNS institute.
Almost two-thirds of Germans think Merkel's government is not paying enough attention
to concerns about immigration and asylum-seekers, it found, and 34 percent believe
Germany is undergoing a process of "Islamisation".
Obviously, on the fringes of this sort of right-wing extremists you will find the antiSemites and the somewhat harder to discern anti-Israel folks. No one should feel that
because the main focus of the haters are followers of Islam that Jews are not targets. If
things get worse, they will find the Jews. They always do. As Ive said many times,
Were next.
To give you a more complete picture of the right-wing groups, click here
http://www.dw.de/making-sense-of-germanys-rightward-shift/a-18128536
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
One should not get too depressed and think that the 1930s have returned. They
havent! There is the other side of the coin. According to DW, The western German city
of Cologne has seen thousands march in a peaceful demonstration against xenophobia
and right-wing extremism. The demonstration comes amid worries of rising antiimmigration sentiment in Germany.
Around 15,000 people marched through Cologne on Sunday afternoon to promote
tolerance and open-mindedness, under the motto: "You are Cologne - no Nazis here."
The gathering was organized largely in reaction to a recent rise in demonstrations by
right-wing groups within Germany.
At the end of October, Cologne saw violent protests as self-proclaimed "hooligans" from
rival football clubs and far-right groups held a protest against Islamists.
Cologne Mayor Jrgen Roters said Sunday's march stood against those riots, and sent
a message that the city was built on "peaceful co-existence."
"Islam is a peaceful religion," Roters told the crowd, which consisted of political parties,
trade unions, church groups, Islamic organizations and football fans. But he added that
the city wanted "nothing to do with Salafists," an extremist sect of Islam.
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It is certainly not a wonderful situation in Germany. The fact that 15,000 people felt it
necessary to come out to denounce right-wing extremism tells me that much of the
population is concerned about what they see in some of the extremist political
movements in their own country.
I hope that the CDU, the Chancellors Party, does not see itself as hamstrung by the
development of the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) which is attacking it from the
right. There is no question that the immigration and asylum seekers problem lends itself
to a very emotional response. By the way, Immigration and difference are not being
handled so well in the U.S. so were not such a good example for others to follow. Each
country has its own problems.
In any case, well be watching .the situation in the future and will update you as stuff
happens.
***********************************************************************************************
See you again in January
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be reached at
dubowdigest@optonline.net
Both the American and Germany editions are posted at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com

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