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From: "DuBow Digest" To: <[email protected]> Subject: The Govt., the States & the Holidays Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 1:21 PM
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AMERICAN EDITION October 26, 2009 Dear friends: I thought I would wait with my next newsletter until after my trip to Washington to hear Chancellor Merkels speech at the Congress. However, there ismuch to reportso Ive decided to go ahead earlier.You'll have towaitfora report onthe Merkeleventuntil the next edition.It willbe e-mailedto you sometime after November 9th. That date is a particularly important one in Germany and I wouldnt want to let it go by without commenting. November 9th is a double-edged sword day in the Federal Republic. On this date the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be celebrated an occurrence that lead to the re-unification of the two Germanys and freedom for 17 million people living under communist rule. In additionNov. 9this the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht, a date when in 1938synagogues all over Germany were destroyed and many Jews killed. I guess it is one of those peculiar tricks of fate that what is a happy date in Germany willforever be tinged with great sorrow. IN THIS EDITION THE NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT Whos in and whos out. GERMAN STATE ELECTIONS Whos in in what kinds of coalitions? THE BISHOP WHO COULDNT KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT So he put his foot in it. HOLIDAYS Will all Germans celebrate Yom Kippur? MORE WARSHIPS FOR ISRAEL Who will pay for them? A troubling question. CHANGES IN JEWISH ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE A contested election? Wow! THE NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT To most Americans the new German government will look pretty much like the one it replaces. Angela Merkel (CDU) will remain as Chancellor. However, the Social Democrats (SPD) are out of the governing coalition and the business oriented Free Democrats (FDP) are now in so the Foreign Minister and Deputy Chancellor will be FDPs Guido Westerwelle. He has very little international experience so I cannot tell you too much about him. Well have to see who he appoints as his top advisors (State Secretaries) and what policies he pursues. Of course, in foreign affairs the voice of the Chancellor is not unimportant (Actually its the most important) so I do not foresee any dramatic changes. One thing I can tell you is that Minister Westerwelle, the No. 2 person in the government, is openly gay and that says a lot in my book about how much more forward thinking on sexual matters the Germans are than we Americans. You can read more about him by clicking here: http://www.dwworld.de/dw/article/0,,4822073,00.html ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521420/26295/goto:https://app2.e2ma.net/ tiny_mce/plugins/paste/pasteword.htm#_top ) The new Defense Minister will be Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg of the Christian
Social Union Party (CSU, the Bavarian sister of the CDU). Guttenberg has most recently been Finance Minister. We think very highly of him. He has visited AJC in New York and met with the AJC Adenauer Exchange delegation a couple of years ago. Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Interior Minister (who we think is great) unhappily (for us) moves over to the Finance Ministry and is replaced by Thomas de Maiziere, the former head of the Chancellery and a close associate of the Chancellor. We fully understand that the Finance Ministry, at this moment in history, is the more critical for Germanys well being. However, the Interior post oversees extremism and anti-Semitism so that is important for us. We certainly wish Minister de Maiziere well and look forward to a vigorous pursuit on those matters. TheLocal.de in commenting on the new government says, In foreign policy, Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the FDP want to press for the Afghan government to assume more responsibilities so that Germany's 4,400 troops can come home. The FDP succeeded in softening somewhat Merkel's position on Turkish membership of the European Union, meaning that the door will remain open, while stressing that Turkish membership is neither automatic nor guaranteed. In terms of ministerial appointments, wheelchair-bound CDU veteran Wolfgang Schuble, 67, current interior minister and the former right hand man of exchancellor Helmut Kohl, was set to become finance minister. The aristocratic Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, 37, economy minister and Germany's most popular politician, was set to move to defence. Rainer Brderle, 64, deputy chairman of the FDP moves to the economy. Thomas de Maizire, 54, Merkel's trusted lieutenant since 2005 as her chief of staff, has been rewarded for his loyalty with the post of interior minister. His main tasks will be tackling the threat of Islamic extremism and fostering better integration of ethnic minorities. Interestingly, there is no mention of Iran or the Israel-Palestinian situation. It is the former that concerns me. The FDP is business oriented. Does that mean a less strong stand regarding Iran than the Chancellors? Well just have to wait and see. . GERMAN STATE ELECTIONS To fully understand German politics an understanding of state elections is crucial. Germany is a federal nation made up of states. So what happens locally has great impact on the national scene. The state governments, like the national one, are parliamentary. That means that there must be a majority party or parties in each state in order for there to be a government that can rule. Coalitions of parties in a government are the most frequent outcome. Some years ago there were only 3 parties that had realistic chances of being in either the national coalition or those of the states if, indeed, a coalition in an individual state was needed. In some states the CDU, CSU or SPD was able to win an outright majority so a coalition was not needed but that rarely happened. The Christian Democrats (CDU) or the Social Democrats (SPD) were the major parties and one usually came out on top. It was given the right to form a government. The winner linked up with the smaller FDP (Free Democrats) and was able to form a 50% or better coalition or, if very strong, was able to win an outright majority. Then in the 1980s and 90s the Greens (formally known as Alliance 90/The Greens) came along and more recently The Left Party (Linke), a left wing split off from the SPD joined up with the former East German communists (PDS) to make it 6 parties including the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria (See below). Voters have many more choices these days. So, things got a little more complicated. Now in the states there were more coalition possibilities. In Thuringia, a former East German state, the CDU, not able to gain a majority with the preferred FDP, had to settle for a Grand Coalition with the SPD. The Left Party folks are bitterly complaining because they feel the more natural linking would be with them as SPD and the Left are both leftist. By the way, Thuringia will have a woman as Minster President (Governor) for the first time. Incidentally, a Grand Coalition of the two big parties is usually a prescription for gridlock.
Berlin, which is a state as well as a city, has for some time had an SPD Linke state government which seems to work. Brandenburg, another former East German state, had a Grand Coalition with the SPD being strongest party. Coming out on top again, the SPD has decided to turn to the Linke this time around to see whether a coalition with them can work. The SPD nationally is opposed to joining with the Linke because the former East German communist party is a major element of the Linke. However, local politics, as we can see, can differ greatly from national ones. In Schleswig Holstein, Germanys most northern state, the CDU, which had been as well in a Grand Coalition with the SPD, was able to join with its more natural partner, the FDP and push its major rival (SPD) out of the government. Earlier this year in Hesse another Grand Coalition came to an end when the SPD did badly and a CDU FDP government was established. A different sort of change took place in the Saarland, Germanys smallest state. Saarland has been governed by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 1999. In the most recent elections in 2009, the CDU lost its absolute majority and was not able to even form a government with the right of center Free Democrats (FDP). The left of center Social Democrats, the left-wing, post-communist Left Party, and the Greens together had a majority of seats, however, on the 11 of October 2009, the Greens announced their intention to form a coalition with the CDU and the FDP. Such a coalition is highly experimental. It could potentially shape future coalition governments on both a regional and national scale. The SPD really took it on the chin both nationally and locally. Elements in the party have sworn never to join forces with the Linke because of the both the fact that the latter is partially made up of former communists. In addition, one of the leaders of the party is Oscar LaFontaine, who broke away from the SPD to form the Linke and is hated by many in the SPD. However, many others who want more leftist policies and decry Grand Coalitions would love to join up with the Linke and to prove its viability point out that the Berlin experiment of SPD and Linke seems to be working. The Greens, though considered leftist, eschewed a left wing coalition in Saarland and could feel that its agenda stressing environmental issues would have a better chance in a center-right coalition. This may be an indication of that partys movement to the middle away from its leftist orientation. The CDU, while not always showing great strength this year, was able to amalgamate itself with the business oriented FDP which did very well in most places. In Bavaria where the CSU (It is the sister party of the CDU There is no CDU in Bavaria) had a lock on politics, they did less well this time and had to join with the FDP to form a state coalition. I know its confusing so why am I telling you all this? The reason is that you should know there is great change blowing in the German political winds. What looks permanent, solid and well grounded today may not look that way in the not too distant future. What happens in the states has major implications for the national scene. The stability and national direction of the German government is enormously important to Israel and Jewish interests so it behooves us to stay tuned and be up on what transpires there. THE BISHOP WHO COULDNT KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT Do you remember the Holocaust denying Catholic Bishop who got kicked out of Argentina for his views and got re-instated from his excommunicated status as a Catholic by the Pope? Well, Bishop Richard Williamson couldnt keep his mouth shut and it might cost him $17,000 plus. As Spiegel On-Line reports, Denying the Holocaust can be expensive. That, at least, could be the lesson facing Bishop Richard Williamson, the ultra-conservative Catholic cleric who plunged the Vatican into crisis in January by telling Swedish television that he believed "there were no gas chambers." Last week, public prosecutors in the southern German city of Regensburg, where Williamson was when he filmed the interview, have formally requested that the bishop be fined 12,000 ($17,860) for incitement. Denying the Holocaust is against
the law in Germany. The presiding court is expected to make a decision this week. If the fine holds up I would suggest that the court contribute the fine money to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. That would more than fine! (Pardon the pun) HOLIDAYS When I opened AJCs Berlin Office in 1998 I was faced with the question of which holidays we should formally and officially celebrate. Of course, there were the Jewish holidays (no question about those), American civil holidays and then the German ones of which some are civil and some religious but celebrated civilly. I counted up the days that we would be closed and came to the conclusion if we celebrated all the holidays we would be open for business only about four days a year (Only kidding!). Germany is, as you know, basically a Christian country so its not unusual for Christian holidays to be thought of as civil and all encompassing. Now, as the JTA reports, Jews and Muslims should have public holidays in Germany like their Christian counterparts, leaders of the two communities said. Stephan Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper that Yom Kippur could be the best choice for such a public holiday. Public schools would be closed to impress on the public the meaning of the Day of Atonement. Kramer also said he supported the idea of establishing a Muslim public holiday in Germany, too. His words came after Kenan Kolat, head of the Turkish community in Germany, called on Germany to add a Muslim holiday -- such as the final day of Ramadan -- to the school calendar as a symbol of multiculturalism in Germany. I decided to mention this story not because another day of two of holidays would change matters in Germany all that much. However, this sort of public request on behalf of two minor religious groups is an indicator of deep changes in the way minorities are now willing to express themselves. It couldnt have happened 10 years ago. Many Germans still see their country as homogeneous. The smarter ones understand that changes in the way minorities see themselves are an important indicator of the developing multiculturalism in the Federal Republic. Not seen before by many as an immigration country, Germany is slowly becoming that in fact. In an article above I talked about the winds of political change. Well, the winds of ethnic and religious change are blowing as well. If you ride the U2 or S1 subways in Berlin and look around at your fellow riders you will graphically see what I mean. Im going to suggest to Deidre Berger, my successor in Berlin, that she support Stephans suggestion. Maybe all of Germany will be fasting on its newest national holiday. Its good for the individual constitution and the waistline. MORE WARSHIPS FOR ISRAEL I have reported to you previously that Germany had provided Israel with its total submarine fleet. Now, The Local reports, Israel is hoping to order two modern German-made warships without paying for them, daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reported Sources within the German government told the paper that Israel wants the Berlin to finance the MEKO corvettes, a sum that would reportedly reach hundreds of millions of euros. The paper reported that the government has not yet reacted to Israels request. But influential politicians from northern Germany, where the shipbuilding industry is suffering from the global economic downturn, are apparently supportive in the interest of keeping German shipyards in business. The shipbuilding contract would go to Hamburg company Blohm + Voss, the paper said. But the internal weapons system would come from the United States, with the end result being a missile defence system on water. In light of the threats from Iran, I dont have any doubt that Israel needs such a missle defense. However, judging from the blog reactions to without paying for them it will be a hard sell in Germany. Germany, like the U.S., is in deep financial trouble and this kind of expenditure would give the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic forces a field day if the matter goes any further. I havent seen it reported anywhere else but Im sure some sort of explanation or denial will be
forthcoming shortly. Ill keep you updated. CHANGES IN JEWISH ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE? The central organizational body of the Jewish community in Germany is called the Zentralrat (Central Council of Jews in Germany). It is made up of the leaders of the local Jewish communities throughout the country. Normally, the head of one those communities becomes the President and is a major voice in Germany. Currently, the President is Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Munich community. The presidency is normally hashed among the various leaders and a President is chosen without any public dispute. Not this time! Henryk Broder, a nationally known magazine columnist and well known gadfly has announced hes running. The Jerusalem Post reported, The German Jewish author and journalist Henryk M. Broder's announcement last week that he plans to run for the presidency of the 120,000-member Central Council of Jews has riveted German society, provoking a nationwide media debate about the political direction of the council. "He throws his kippa in the ring" was the headline of Broder's article last week in the daily Der Tagesspiegel, in which he argued for a radical shift away from a "fixation on the past" and issued unusually sharp criticism of the central council's leadership. Broder, who writes for Der Spiegel and enjoys celebrity status because of his best-selling book about Europe's capitulation to political Islam and witty commentaries dissecting German society, said the central council, finds itself in a "pitiful condition." Theres more to the story. Click below. We will continue to follow it. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256150050067pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle %2FShowFull ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521421/26295/goto:http://www.jpost.com/s ervlet/Satellite?cid=1256150050067pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ) See you in November. ****************************** DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) Both the American and Germany editions are also posted on line at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521422/26295/goto:http://e2ma.net/go/247 8968211/2257955/85422922/26295/goto:http:/www.dubowdigest.typepad.com/ ). 10 Voorhis Point, South Nyack, NY 10960 ___________________________________ forward this email to a friend http://e2ma.net/map/view=Forward/ID=26295.2517536173/rid=60605f04e6ca7764e931afff3 0ef163c/send_to_friend
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AMERICAN EDITION October 26, 2009 Dear friends: I thought I would wait with my next newsletter until after my trip to Washington to hear Chancellor Merkels speech at the Congress. However, there ismuch to reportso Ive decided to go ahead earlier.You'll have towaitfora report onthe Merkeleventuntil the next edition.It willbe e-mailedto you sometime after November 9th. That date is a particularly important one in Germany and I wouldnt want to let it go by without commenting. November 9th is a double-edged sword day in the Federal Republic. On this date the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be celebrated an occurrence that lead to the re-unification of the two Germanys and freedom for 17 million people living under communist rule. In additionNov. 9this the 71st anniversary of Kristallnacht, a date when in 1938synagogues all over Germany were destroyed and many Jews killed. I guess it is one of those peculiar tricks of fate that what is a happy date in Germany willforever be tinged with great sorrow. IN THIS EDITION THE NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT Whos in and whos out. GERMAN STATE ELECTIONS Whos in in what kinds of coalitions? THE BISHOP WHO COULDNT KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT So he put his foot in it. HOLIDAYS Will all Germans celebrate Yom Kippur? MORE WARSHIPS FOR ISRAEL Who will pay for them? A troubling question. CHANGES IN JEWISH ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE A contested election? Wow! THE NEW GERMAN GOVERNMENT To most Americans the new German government will look pretty much like the one it replaces. Angela Merkel (CDU) will remain as Chancellor. However, the Social Democrats (SPD) are out of the governing coalition and the business oriented Free Democrats (FDP) are now in so the Foreign Minister and Deputy Chancellor will be FDPs Guido Westerwelle. He has very little international experience so I cannot tell you too much about him. Well have to see who he appoints as his top advisors (State Secretaries) and what policies he pursues. Of course, in foreign affairs the voice of the Chancellor is not unimportant (Actually its the most important) so I do not foresee any dramatic changes. One thing I can tell you is that Minister Westerwelle, the No. 2 person in the government, is openly gay and that says a lot in my book about how much more forward thinking on sexual matters the Germans are than we Americans. You can read more about him by clicking here: http://www.dwworld.de/dw/article/0,,4822073,00.html ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521420/26295/goto:https://app2.e2ma.net/ tiny_mce/plugins/paste/pasteword.htm#_top ) The new Defense Minister will be Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg of the Christian
Social Union Party (CSU, the Bavarian sister of the CDU). Guttenberg has most recently been Finance Minister. We think very highly of him. He has visited AJC in New York and met with the AJC Adenauer Exchange delegation a couple of years ago. Wolfgang Schaeuble, the Interior Minister (who we think is great) unhappily (for us) moves over to the Finance Ministry and is replaced by Thomas de Maiziere, the former head of the Chancellery and a close associate of the Chancellor. We fully understand that the Finance Ministry, at this moment in history, is the more critical for Germanys well being. However, the Interior post oversees extremism and anti-Semitism so that is important for us. We certainly wish Minister de Maiziere well and look forward to a vigorous pursuit on those matters. TheLocal.de in commenting on the new government says, In foreign policy, Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the FDP want to press for the Afghan government to assume more responsibilities so that Germany's 4,400 troops can come home. The FDP succeeded in softening somewhat Merkel's position on Turkish membership of the European Union, meaning that the door will remain open, while stressing that Turkish membership is neither automatic nor guaranteed. In terms of ministerial appointments, wheelchair-bound CDU veteran Wolfgang Schuble, 67, current interior minister and the former right hand man of exchancellor Helmut Kohl, was set to become finance minister. The aristocratic Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, 37, economy minister and Germany's most popular politician, was set to move to defence. Rainer Brderle, 64, deputy chairman of the FDP moves to the economy. Thomas de Maizire, 54, Merkel's trusted lieutenant since 2005 as her chief of staff, has been rewarded for his loyalty with the post of interior minister. His main tasks will be tackling the threat of Islamic extremism and fostering better integration of ethnic minorities. Interestingly, there is no mention of Iran or the Israel-Palestinian situation. It is the former that concerns me. The FDP is business oriented. Does that mean a less strong stand regarding Iran than the Chancellors? Well just have to wait and see. . GERMAN STATE ELECTIONS To fully understand German politics an understanding of state elections is crucial. Germany is a federal nation made up of states. So what happens locally has great impact on the national scene. The state governments, like the national one, are parliamentary. That means that there must be a majority party or parties in each state in order for there to be a government that can rule. Coalitions of parties in a government are the most frequent outcome. Some years ago there were only 3 parties that had realistic chances of being in either the national coalition or those of the states if, indeed, a coalition in an individual state was needed. In some states the CDU, CSU or SPD was able to win an outright majority so a coalition was not needed but that rarely happened. The Christian Democrats (CDU) or the Social Democrats (SPD) were the major parties and one usually came out on top. It was given the right to form a government. The winner linked up with the smaller FDP (Free Democrats) and was able to form a 50% or better coalition or, if very strong, was able to win an outright majority. Then in the 1980s and 90s the Greens (formally known as Alliance 90/The Greens) came along and more recently The Left Party (Linke), a left wing split off from the SPD joined up with the former East German communists (PDS) to make it 6 parties including the Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria (See below). Voters have many more choices these days. So, things got a little more complicated. Now in the states there were more coalition possibilities. In Thuringia, a former East German state, the CDU, not able to gain a majority with the preferred FDP, had to settle for a Grand Coalition with the SPD. The Left Party folks are bitterly complaining because they feel the more natural linking would be with them as SPD and the Left are both leftist. By the way, Thuringia will have a woman as Minster President (Governor) for the first time. Incidentally, a Grand Coalition of the two big parties is usually a prescription for gridlock.
Berlin, which is a state as well as a city, has for some time had an SPD Linke state government which seems to work. Brandenburg, another former East German state, had a Grand Coalition with the SPD being strongest party. Coming out on top again, the SPD has decided to turn to the Linke this time around to see whether a coalition with them can work. The SPD nationally is opposed to joining with the Linke because the former East German communist party is a major element of the Linke. However, local politics, as we can see, can differ greatly from national ones. In Schleswig Holstein, Germanys most northern state, the CDU, which had been as well in a Grand Coalition with the SPD, was able to join with its more natural partner, the FDP and push its major rival (SPD) out of the government. Earlier this year in Hesse another Grand Coalition came to an end when the SPD did badly and a CDU FDP government was established. A different sort of change took place in the Saarland, Germanys smallest state. Saarland has been governed by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 1999. In the most recent elections in 2009, the CDU lost its absolute majority and was not able to even form a government with the right of center Free Democrats (FDP). The left of center Social Democrats, the left-wing, post-communist Left Party, and the Greens together had a majority of seats, however, on the 11 of October 2009, the Greens announced their intention to form a coalition with the CDU and the FDP. Such a coalition is highly experimental. It could potentially shape future coalition governments on both a regional and national scale. The SPD really took it on the chin both nationally and locally. Elements in the party have sworn never to join forces with the Linke because of the both the fact that the latter is partially made up of former communists. In addition, one of the leaders of the party is Oscar LaFontaine, who broke away from the SPD to form the Linke and is hated by many in the SPD. However, many others who want more leftist policies and decry Grand Coalitions would love to join up with the Linke and to prove its viability point out that the Berlin experiment of SPD and Linke seems to be working. The Greens, though considered leftist, eschewed a left wing coalition in Saarland and could feel that its agenda stressing environmental issues would have a better chance in a center-right coalition. This may be an indication of that partys movement to the middle away from its leftist orientation. The CDU, while not always showing great strength this year, was able to amalgamate itself with the business oriented FDP which did very well in most places. In Bavaria where the CSU (It is the sister party of the CDU There is no CDU in Bavaria) had a lock on politics, they did less well this time and had to join with the FDP to form a state coalition. I know its confusing so why am I telling you all this? The reason is that you should know there is great change blowing in the German political winds. What looks permanent, solid and well grounded today may not look that way in the not too distant future. What happens in the states has major implications for the national scene. The stability and national direction of the German government is enormously important to Israel and Jewish interests so it behooves us to stay tuned and be up on what transpires there. THE BISHOP WHO COULDNT KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT Do you remember the Holocaust denying Catholic Bishop who got kicked out of Argentina for his views and got re-instated from his excommunicated status as a Catholic by the Pope? Well, Bishop Richard Williamson couldnt keep his mouth shut and it might cost him $17,000 plus. As Spiegel On-Line reports, Denying the Holocaust can be expensive. That, at least, could be the lesson facing Bishop Richard Williamson, the ultra-conservative Catholic cleric who plunged the Vatican into crisis in January by telling Swedish television that he believed "there were no gas chambers." Last week, public prosecutors in the southern German city of Regensburg, where Williamson was when he filmed the interview, have formally requested that the bishop be fined 12,000 ($17,860) for incitement. Denying the Holocaust is against
the law in Germany. The presiding court is expected to make a decision this week. If the fine holds up I would suggest that the court contribute the fine money to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. That would more than fine! (Pardon the pun) HOLIDAYS When I opened AJCs Berlin Office in 1998 I was faced with the question of which holidays we should formally and officially celebrate. Of course, there were the Jewish holidays (no question about those), American civil holidays and then the German ones of which some are civil and some religious but celebrated civilly. I counted up the days that we would be closed and came to the conclusion if we celebrated all the holidays we would be open for business only about four days a year (Only kidding!). Germany is, as you know, basically a Christian country so its not unusual for Christian holidays to be thought of as civil and all encompassing. Now, as the JTA reports, Jews and Muslims should have public holidays in Germany like their Christian counterparts, leaders of the two communities said. Stephan Kramer, general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper that Yom Kippur could be the best choice for such a public holiday. Public schools would be closed to impress on the public the meaning of the Day of Atonement. Kramer also said he supported the idea of establishing a Muslim public holiday in Germany, too. His words came after Kenan Kolat, head of the Turkish community in Germany, called on Germany to add a Muslim holiday -- such as the final day of Ramadan -- to the school calendar as a symbol of multiculturalism in Germany. I decided to mention this story not because another day of two of holidays would change matters in Germany all that much. However, this sort of public request on behalf of two minor religious groups is an indicator of deep changes in the way minorities are now willing to express themselves. It couldnt have happened 10 years ago. Many Germans still see their country as homogeneous. The smarter ones understand that changes in the way minorities see themselves are an important indicator of the developing multiculturalism in the Federal Republic. Not seen before by many as an immigration country, Germany is slowly becoming that in fact. In an article above I talked about the winds of political change. Well, the winds of ethnic and religious change are blowing as well. If you ride the U2 or S1 subways in Berlin and look around at your fellow riders you will graphically see what I mean. Im going to suggest to Deidre Berger, my successor in Berlin, that she support Stephans suggestion. Maybe all of Germany will be fasting on its newest national holiday. Its good for the individual constitution and the waistline. MORE WARSHIPS FOR ISRAEL I have reported to you previously that Germany had provided Israel with its total submarine fleet. Now, The Local reports, Israel is hoping to order two modern German-made warships without paying for them, daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung reported Sources within the German government told the paper that Israel wants the Berlin to finance the MEKO corvettes, a sum that would reportedly reach hundreds of millions of euros. The paper reported that the government has not yet reacted to Israels request. But influential politicians from northern Germany, where the shipbuilding industry is suffering from the global economic downturn, are apparently supportive in the interest of keeping German shipyards in business. The shipbuilding contract would go to Hamburg company Blohm + Voss, the paper said. But the internal weapons system would come from the United States, with the end result being a missile defence system on water. In light of the threats from Iran, I dont have any doubt that Israel needs such a missle defense. However, judging from the blog reactions to without paying for them it will be a hard sell in Germany. Germany, like the U.S., is in deep financial trouble and this kind of expenditure would give the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic forces a field day if the matter goes any further. I havent seen it reported anywhere else but Im sure some sort of explanation or denial will be
forthcoming shortly. Ill keep you updated. CHANGES IN JEWISH ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE? The central organizational body of the Jewish community in Germany is called the Zentralrat (Central Council of Jews in Germany). It is made up of the leaders of the local Jewish communities throughout the country. Normally, the head of one those communities becomes the President and is a major voice in Germany. Currently, the President is Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Munich community. The presidency is normally hashed among the various leaders and a President is chosen without any public dispute. Not this time! Henryk Broder, a nationally known magazine columnist and well known gadfly has announced hes running. The Jerusalem Post reported, The German Jewish author and journalist Henryk M. Broder's announcement last week that he plans to run for the presidency of the 120,000-member Central Council of Jews has riveted German society, provoking a nationwide media debate about the political direction of the council. "He throws his kippa in the ring" was the headline of Broder's article last week in the daily Der Tagesspiegel, in which he argued for a radical shift away from a "fixation on the past" and issued unusually sharp criticism of the central council's leadership. Broder, who writes for Der Spiegel and enjoys celebrity status because of his best-selling book about Europe's capitulation to political Islam and witty commentaries dissecting German society, said the central council, finds itself in a "pitiful condition." Theres more to the story. Click below. We will continue to follow it. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256150050067pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle %2FShowFull ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521421/26295/goto:http://www.jpost.com/s ervlet/Satellite?cid=1256150050067pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ) See you in November. ****************************** DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) Both the American and Germany editions are also posted on line at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com ( http://e2ma.net/go/2517536173/2295991/86521422/26295/goto:http://e2ma.net/go/247 8968211/2257955/85422922/26295/goto:http:/www.dubowdigest.typepad.com/ ). 10 Voorhis Point, South Nyack, NY 10960 ___________________________________ forward this email to a friend http://e2ma.net/map/view=Forward/ID=26295.2517536173/rid=60605f04e6ca7764e931afff3 0ef163c/send_to_friend
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