In Germany, virtually no other country is the subject of so much discussion and debate as Israel – everyone has an opinion about it. Why is that? And why is the debate so emotional – and often so poisonous?
When Meron Mendel came to Germany twenty years ago, he was surprised to discover how important Israel is in public discourse. Almost everyone he spoke to was able to formulate very clear positions on Israel and its policies. This remains true today: for many Germans, their attitude toward Israel is integral to their political position.
Is Israel part of Germany’s raison d’état? Is it acceptable to talk to BDS activists? Should radical Palestinian positions be given space in German media? What lies behind these questions, which are debated so passionately in Germany, the land of the perpetrators?
This book is not about Israel or the conflict with the Palestinians – rather, it is about how the conflict in the Middle East is negotiated in Germany, in politics and in the media, among leftists, migrants and Jews. It is about the German Israel complex.
