Dubow Digest Germany Edition July 6, 2009

GERMANY EDITION July 6, 2009 Dear Friends: IN THIS EDITION: *MY TRIP TO GERMANY *MERKEL - OBAMA VISIT *MADOFF & ANTI-SEMITISM *A NEW JEWISH SENATOR *GREAT BRITAIN TOO *OBAMA, ISRAEL & THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY *DOES ISRAEL HAVE A NEGOTIATING PARTNER? *HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION I am just back from a terrific 11 days in Germany. I headed our 29th annual American Jewish Committee – Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Exchange delegation which visited Hamburg and Berlin (I also visited a friend in Koeln). We had some fascinating meetings including ones with Generals Bergmann and Schreiner at the Fuerungsakademie der Bundeswehr, Kartsen Voight at the Foreign Office, Christian Schmidt at the Defense Ministry, Ruprecht Polenz at the Bundestag and Gerhard Wahlers at the Stiftung itself. There were many other meetings (one of our participants counted 24) and I apologize for not mentioning all those who addressed us. The importance of the “mission” always is to familiarize the group of leaders from AJC with contemporary Germany and I think the program organized by Ingrid Garwels of the KAS this year was just outstanding. I don’t think it’s any secret that American Jews are far behind, for instance, Israelis, in understanding and being familiar with the Germany of today. I think I’ve said it before (but I’ll repeat it). Even for many AJC people who are well educated and are up on current events, the Germany of the 1930’s and 1940’s is burned into their minds and the new democratic Federal Republic comes as a surprise to them. On the subject of secrets, I don’t think I’m betraying any confidences by telling both my German and American friends – and anyone else who will listen to me - that Germany is very important to “Jewish interests” which include Israel and fighting anti-Semitism and so deeper knowledge about it and its people is vital. AJC is certainly doing its part and in this instance the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung is a great help. MERKEL- OBAMA VISIT The height of self-aggrandizement is to quote yourself as an authority. I try to maintain at least a patina of humility but – the following paragraph comes from my American Edition of DuBow Digest which I usually write before I write the one for Germany. In it I said, “In terms of publicity, how do you compete with the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson plus the demonstrations in Iran?

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The answer is – you don’t! So the meeting between Chancellor Merkel and President Obama was hidden somewhere on the back pages of most newspapers if, indeed, they reported on it all. Even the German websites I follow didn’t have much coverage. Frankly, there wasn’t much to cover. They met, they said they’re good friends and will cooperate on everything, shook hands and went their separate ways. As far as I could tell the Merkel - Obama visit didn’t even make a dent in the American Jewish press. However, Chancellor Merkel did strongly condemn the way the Iranian government ran roughshod over those demonstrating against what certainly looked like a fixed and crooked election. She certainly aligned herself with those that do not in any way trust Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollahs running the country. Iran, its nuclear plans and its threats to Israel are very high of the list of concerns that American Jews have. To see how little regard they have for their own people is not very reassuring and I’m glad the Chancellor sees things that way as well. In any case, the need Obama and Merkel have for each other is important. Dr. Jackson Janes of the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins University said it best when he recently wrote, “Berlin and Washington have always argued, sometimes rationally, sometimes emotionally, about challenges. That will no doubt continue, no matter the leaders. American and German democracies are loud and complicated, as are most healthy ones. For Obama, Merkel remains one of the few reliable players on the political stage in Europe. Great Britain is in turmoil, French President Sarkozy is unpredictable, and the remaining leaders are less influential than the chancellor. For Merkel, Obama's popularity in Germany can be an important asset for her next term, assuming she gets another term and assuming they can work together in setting a shared agenda. For Obama, having a steady partner in Germany will help steer Europe to his benefit.” I must say that I am not unhappy that there is very little to report about on the meeting of Obama & Merkel. The relationship seems about as secure as one can be and if, indeed, there are differences they are small in comparison to the agreements. In this case less certainly seems to be more. MADOFF & ANTI-SEMITISM If the front pages had little to say about the President and the Chancellor they made up for it reporting on the sentencing of Bernard Madoff – who happens to be Jewish. Unless you have been hiding in a cave in the Fichtelgebirge for the last 6 months I’m sure Mr. Madoff’s name is not unknown to you. The greatest swindler of all time has been sentenced to 150 years in jail and considering the fact that he is 71 years old we are not likely to swindled by him again any time in the future. I don’t care at all about Mr. Madoff or even about the fact that my tax money will

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be paying for his housing and food fro the next 150 years. What I am interested in is whether his crime is seen by a number of my fellow Americans as a “Jewish crime” or worse, that they link Madoff with our economy and blame the economic crisis in the U.S. on the Jews. The Jewish Week recently reported, “An online poll on anti-Semitic attitudes in the wake of the Bernard Madoff scandal suggests more than a third of Americans blame “the Jews” to some degree for the economic crisis. The poll, by two professors at Stanford University, did not distinguish between financiers, corporate CEOs, economists, government officials or others who are Jewish, but simply inquired “How much to blame were the Jews for the financial crisis?” Five answer categories ranged from “a moderate amount” to “a great deal,” with 24 percent giving the strongest answer, and a total of 38.4 percent attributing at least some blame for the biggest financial crisis since the Depression on “the Jews.” The poll brought forth a lot of criticism from other Jewish demographers who think that the methodology was deeply flawed. Maybe it was. In fact, I certainly hope it was. However, I do know that anti-Semitism, like tuberculosis, lies dormant but does not ever seem to be subject to a permanent cure. The fact that researchers even thought that there might be a connection between Madoff and the current economic plight troubles me. In any case, if you want to read about the conflict over the polling method click here: http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c37_a16142/News/National.html A NEW JEWISH SENATOR Eight months after our national election Al Franken of Minnesota, finally winning a very long court battle, has been officially elected as a new Senator from that State. The JTA reported, “With its decision in favor of comedian Al Franken, the Minnesota Supreme Court has given the U.S. Senate its first veteran of “Saturday Night Live” -- and left the chamber with no Jewish Republican members. Senator Franken will be sworn in as soon as the Senate returns from its July 4th recess. The number of Jews in the Senate (if anyone is counting) will be 13 out of a hundred with the addition of Franken. Even if he had lost it would have been 13 because his opponent, Norm Coleman is also Jewish. The important statistic is that with Coleman’s loss (He was the incumbent), as noted above, and the switch from Republican to Democrat by Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter, the Senate now has no Jewish Republicans. And, in the House of Representatives there is only one, Eric Cantor of Virginia out of 31 Jews. The point in my reporting all this is to show how entrenched the American Jewish community is in the Democratic Party. American Jews gave Barack Obama 78%

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of its vote. I think that gives you a pretty good picture of where Jews stand in American politics. By the way, Franken is a well known comedian and a TV personality. However, he is a cum laude graduate of Harvard so he is no clown. However, given the antics of some members of the Senate, becoming a member of that body might be just the place for a comedian. He might feel right at home. GREAT BRITAIN TOO! While important government posts are being filled by Jews in the United States, Great Britain is also getting into the act. For the first time ever the new Speaker of the House of Commons is Jewish. Conservative MP John Bercow was elected to the post and will preside over that august body. Read the Jerusalem Post article by clicking here: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1245184901650&pagename=JPost%2 FJPArticle%2FShowFull OBAMA, ISRAEL & THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY Gary Rosenblatt, the editor of The Jewish Week, posted an interesting column this week pointing out some of the concerns American Jews and their leadership have about the Middle East policies of the Obama Administration. In his opening paragraph he wrote, “Accustomed as he is to public speaking here and around the country, David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee, can read an audience as well as anyone. Lately, he says, he is "hearing a growing number of questions and concerns about the U.S.-Israel relationship, and a sense that the Obama administration’s response to the Iran crisis was slower than it should have been." Harris is not alone. Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, says the normal anxiety level among American Jews when a new administration takes shape has been heightened to new levels because President Obama "champions change, and American Jews tend to approve of U.S. policy toward Israel and don’t necessarily welcome change" Leaders of American Jewish organizations note an unease among mainstream supporters of Israel and Jewish causes — we’re not talking about marginal "Obama is a Muslim" critics here — who say they voted for and admire Barack Obama and support many of his policies, but feel he is being overly critical of Israel and too soft on the Palestinians and on an Iranian regime bent on developing nuclear weapons that could end up aimed at the Jewish state. Rosenblatt raises a question about the “unbreakable bonds” between the U.S. and Israel being weakened. And, he notes, “And is the gap growing between leaders of mainstream Jewish organizations and the majority of American Jews, more than three-quarters of whom voted for Obama, support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian crisis and may well agree that settlements are a hindrance to peace?

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I think these are legitimate questions that have to be looked into. Rosenblatt further notes (accurately) that the matter of “settlements” is more complicated than most American Jews (and almost everyone else) understand. However, I think the Israeli Governemnt understands it and that is why their Defense Minister Ehud Barack is in direct negotiation with our governemnt on the issue. I think my friends in Germany should understand that the American Jewish community, its leadership, the Israeli Governemnt and the that of the United States are not always in lockstep with each other. It’s good thing that Rosenblatt has raised the question about the quality of those relationships but, frankly, I think it’s more of a rhetorical question than anything else. In looking back over the more than 60 years of relationship among those elements I think you will see “discussion and negotiation” arises whenever there are problems. Rarely are there splits. That’s the sign of a good and productive relationship and it’s not far different than one the U.S. ejoys with Germany. To read Rosenblatt’s column click here: http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c52_a16222/Editorial__Opinion/Gary_ Rosenblatt.html DOES ISRAEL HAVE A NEGOTIATING PARTNER? I try my best to keep DuBow Digest focused on American Jewish matters. However, at times it is difficult to keep them separate from those having to do with Israel. It should not come as a shock to anyone that what happens in Israel and the Middle East are “Nummer Eins” when it comes to what American Jews are thinking about. While there is a lot of talk even on the part of our own President and Chancellor Merkel about a “Two State Solution” the question remains, “Who do the Israelis negotiate with”? I myself do not see a partner as the Palestinians continue warring with each other. One of the Israeli real authorities on the subject is Yossi Alpher, the former Director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University and the former Director of AJC’s Israel Office. Yossi is co-editor of a fascinating website/blog www.bitterlemons.org . In a recent article Yossi talks about the negotiations between the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He notes that in 2008 Olmert made a very generous peace offer to Abbas yet “Abbas looks at an offer of virtually the entire territory of the West Bank, internationalization of the disputed holy sites in Jerusalem and (according to him) the right of return, turns it down and says "the gaps were wide". So Yossi concludes, “Can we Israelis be blamed for suspecting that we really do not have a partner for a two-state deal?” And finally says,” I can only hope that somewhere, waiting in the wings, is the Palestinian leader capable of broadly

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accepting at least Olmert's offer--and without distorting it. Or that some sort of international leadership, Arab or American, will prove ready and able to persuade the Palestinian leadership and public to make the necessary concessions. Otherwise, the chances of a successful two-state breakthrough in the near future were definitely reduced by Abbas' statements. Yossi Alpher is not some way out right-wing extremist. He is a moderate, very reasonable and realistic surveyor of the Middle East scene. If he does not see a path to peace in the near future then perhaps, the best we can hope for is “no war”. I hope we’re both wrong. HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION Restitution of/and for art works, land and other valuables stolen by the Nazi period is still a very important issue for the Jewish community. The JTA reported this past week, “In a significant gesture this week, 46 countries signed a declaration at the close of a Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague aimed at easing the restitution process for Jewish property taken during the Nazi era. The Terezin Declaration is a nonbinding set of guiding principles aimed at faster, more open and transparent restitution of art and private and communal property taken by force or under duress during the Holocaust.” I recognize that the identification and restitution of stolen property is a difficult and complicated matter especially 65 years after the Holocaust. That, of course, is no reason why it should not go forward. After all, justice sought after should never be denigrated. However, in this case it has caused in some countries an ugly reemergence of anti-Semitism. In Vilnius, Lithuania a daily paper attacked my AJC colleague Rabbi Andrew Baker who been very visible in restitution matters with a vile front page story. That is really unforgivable. You can make up your own mind by looking at it. Click here to see it: http://jta.org/news/article/2009/06/30/1006242/last-chance-for-holocaustrestitution See you again soon. DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted at [email protected] Both the American and Germany editions are also posted on line at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com as well.

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