MID-EAST REALITIES - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 12/17/2001: We've yet to see the full English translation of yesterday's important article by Publisher Rudolf Augstein of Der Spiegel. But right away we can certainly comment that it's about time German intellectuals and journalists realized that precisely because of their past they have a special obligation to stand up against racism and facism and brute militarism -- from whatever quarter it rears its ugly tentacles. And not only is Israel not immune from such commentary, but in fact precisely because of the huge monetary sums the Germans have given to to the Israelis as reparations over the years Germany should realize it also has a very special responsibility to the Palestinian people who in such a twist of history are also such victims of "the Holocaust" and its aftermath.

BERLIN - Associated Press, AP - 17 December 2001: Israel's ambassador protested to Germany's leading news magazine Monday for publishing a column comparing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's hard-line stand toward the Palestinians to policies pursued by Adolf Hitler.

Penned by publisher Rudolf Augstein, one of Germany's best-known journalists, the column in the weekly Der Spiegel said Sharon would only pave the way to power for a more radical generation of Palestinians if he brings about Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's demise.

Augstein likened that scenario to Hitler's miscalculated hopes in the late 1930s for the fall of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. His place was taken by Winston Churchill, who led Britain during the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Ambassador Shimon Stein, in a letter to Augstein also made available to the media, called the comparison an insult for any Holocaust survivor and the entire Jewish people. He urged the magazine's readers to reject any insinuation, historic analogy or something resembling a comparison between the prime minister of the Jewish state and the non-person who wanted to destroy this people.

The editorial, published in the edition that hit newsstands Monday, said Sharon has wiped out two decades of peace efforts by provoking war with the Palestinians and ordering military actions aimed at crippling Arafat as a leader. "Ariel Sharon wants war. He has left no doubt about that," Augstein wrote, accusing Sharon of seeking to turn the Palestinian areas into an Israeli protectorate. He said Palestinians have been continuously humiliated since Israel's victory in the 1967 Mideast war.

Despite being outspoken, the comments are unlikely to damage special German-Israeli bonds rooted in the shared history of the Holocaust. Germany is Israel's staunchest European ally and, based on that trust, has taken an increasingly active role in Mideast peace efforts.

Mid-East Realities

www.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/12/512.htm