No 5 - Things look different on the ground

This is without question the most exciting and interesting day of our little journey through Israel. Today we took a tour Green Olive Tours through the Westbank took.
Early in the morning we met our supposed tour guide. He had some interesting stories to tell. Although he lived the last eleven years in Belgium, he never received the Belgium citizenship. As Isreal does not regard him as an Israeli citizen he is now stateless. Right after the first checkpoint on the boarder to the Westbank we realized that they actually messed up the different tours by accidents. In consequence we had to wait at the non-called boarder for another guide, who picked us up with his taxi and brought us to
Ramallah. Here we had to go through another checkpoint to enter the city. Just walking through this highly armored checkpoint was already an absolutely weirded experience. It got even more confusing when we reached the other side. Good thing that our new guide picked us up right at the boarder. He is a pretty cool dude, a huge fan of Banksy and having lived in Canada for the last years, which made communication quite easy. On top he came with an early 1990s Mercedes E-Class stretched limo with six doors.
Leaving the checkpoint behind us we immediately entered the Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem. I haven't seen a place like that ever before in my life. The camp itself looks like a bunch of tiny houses, all of them somehow interconnected with each other. It is surrounded by the wall and military watchtowers. The Israelis call it a security fence, the Palestinians a separation or even apartheid wall. I wouldn't go so far, but this wall definitely makes their life incredibly harder. When you are in there it feels like an open air prison. The wall itself is covered with graffiti from locals and artists worldwide. We saw some of the famous Banksy street artwork. Like the little girl with the balloons flying over the wall or the little girl controlling an soldier. The houses next to the wall look all kind of endangered. Covered with bullet holes, it gives you a feeling about the tensions in the Westbank. We visited a local information and visitor center ran by a Palestinian NGO, which closely works together with the UN. They told us a lot about the struggles they are facing in maintaining their services. Later on, another local drove us from Bethlehem to Ramallah. On the ride it was interesting to see how the country is cut into pieces. The settlements basically posses about their own water and electricity supply and are connected to other settlements by their own roads. Most of the roads are for the use of the settlers only. Another critical issue is the access to water. Whereas even illegal settlements are quickly connected to the water infrastructure and have all day water access, most Palestinian houses get water supply only for a few hours a day. This contradiction is visible when you look qt the roofs of the houses in the Westbank. On every Palestinian home one can see big black tanks or barrels, which they use to collect water once they get access to it.
Entering Ramallah is a pretty odd experience. Ramallah is one of the few places completely controlled by the Palestinian authority. Right at the entrance to the city it is stated that no Israelis are allowed in the city. In return no Palestinians are allowed to enter Israel (with the exception of Israeli Arabs and Palestinian citizen of East Jerusalem). Which restricts the freedom of movement especially for the Palestinans, who in order to go abroad need to posses a Jordan passport.
Ramallah itself is surrounded by the walls of the nearby settlements. The city center however is lively and hectic. It looks like a huge Arabian market. To my surprise it seems to be a really liberal place. Hotels everywhere, street music, all kind of shops and cafes and many luxury cars. A pretty big contrast to the refugee camp we saw the beginning of the day in Bethlehem. After having a coffee at Ramallah's famous Stars&Bucks we left the city by bus. Only half an hour and another Israeli military checkpoint later we arrived back in Jerusalem.
This day left me back with extremely mixed feelings. This is not the right place and time to discuss the roots of this conflict, but seeing what happens on the ground gave me a really direct impression. The situation in the Westbank is the complete opposite to the life in Tel Aviv. In the latter one Arabs and Jews life together peacefully in a multicultural global city, whereas in Jerusalem and the Westbank ethnicities are strictly separated. The argument of the Israelis calling for security may follow a certain rationality. However the outcome on the ground seems to make things way worse and widens the gap between Israelis and Palestinians. Separation, suspicion and isolation are pretty bad preconditions for peace.
This day definitely made a dent on me. However all the things I saw today need time to process. I get the feeling the deeper I dip my nose in this conflict the more it becomes unclear to me what is going on for what reason.

No 4 - From Negev to Jerusalem

I think out of the whole trip this day was our least busiest day, which - given our rich schedule - still means that a lot was going on.
I woke up blinded by the desert sun and with flys over my face. Nevertheless sleeping under the clear sky of the Negev was a pretty unique experience. We left the tent camp quite early to see the massive crater in the desert. At this time the sun was kicking in pretty hard. However, the view was amazing. Later on we took the bus together with Christian to Be'er Sheva. From there on our ways were splitting up as we headed further on to Jerusalem and he left for Tel Aviv. It was interesting to see that this time there wasn't such a massive crowd of soldiers at the bus station. They were still a lot, but most of them were just young girls. Girls in uniform - I have to say is a really nice distraction for the eye.
We arrived in Jerusalem by the afternoon. Basically our and this blogs mission was so to say accomplished. In the city we realized immediately the intense vibe of the place. After a few security checks I gained the first glimpse on the city. And I have to say its way nicer and cleaner than expected. Especially in comparison with Tel Aviv it has seems surprisingly chic. This can't be applied to the whole city, which will be proven during our further travels in and around Jerusalem. But for the moment I was overwhelmed by its variety and international atmosphere. We stay at a really convenient hostel right in the center of the new city, called Abraham Hostel. They offer various tours and activities, which makes it actually to easy for a proper backpacker. However, we stayed the first night in a 6 bed room, where I got woken up by an orthodox Jew at two o'clock in the night. I'm telling you Jerusalem will have many surprises for us in its back pocket. More about that later.

Site note: for my critics, especially those little blond girls from California: I'm writing these blog entries at the end of the day when I have a level of concentration like an Irishman after 5 Guinness. So again I'm aware of my spelling and grammar mistakes. Though I'm just to lazy to review every entry after starring for half an hour on the tiny screen of my phone. I know you still stay tuned:)

No 3 - Negev Beduin culture at its best

This day had a lot in shop for us. Leaving Tel Aviv in the morning by bus, we arrived in Be'er Sheva around noon. The short stop in Israel's fourth biggest city was already an experience for itself. Even in my army times I have never been surrounded by so many soldiers. Watching them holding their M16 assault rifles like cameras or putting them on their legs while consuming burgers at McDonalds was kind of surreal. At latest when it comes to the point when they are all trying to squeeze in the bus, you feel the opposite of save.
From Be'er Sheva we took the bus to Mitzpe Ramon, a tiny little town in the center of the Negev Desert. Talking about surreal situations, they continued at every bus stop. Every single time our bus - filled with young Israeli soldiers and two German backpackers - arrived at a bus stop more Beduins joined the ride. The men holding plastic bags full of food and the women covered in a black Burkas.
Once we reached our destination it became pretty clear that this contracts between Israel's hightec army and the traditional lifestyle of the beduins was shaping the life on the desert. We had booked a place for the night in a escapist hippie style tend lodge outside the city of Mitzpe Ramon. The place itself is basically just a bunch of tends somehow connected to each other. Simple but extremely relaxed, surrounded by the quite and mysterious desert. Walking through the desert was already a challenge as the sun was grilling us. When we finally got there we met the owner of the place and another German backpacker called Christian. That was it no one else. The highlight of the day was definitely the camel right we did in the late afternoon. We've been picked up by some Arabian beduins in there rusty car. Completely packed, their little pick up truck brought us to a camel farm. Here they live in a small little tend right next to the camels. The place itself was absolutely messy and all kind of stuff from old Hebrew books to used Coca Cola fridges and even a a lawn mower was lying around in the inhospitable desert. I mean you have to imagine them living under the easiest conditions surrounded by gigantic Israeli radar station, army and air-force bases of the Israeli Defence Forces and an all American style smallville, where mums bring their kids in SUVs to school. At the end of the day we arranged a meeting with a recently immigrated American sky expert. He was so excited to show us the sky and the stars that we all totally lost the sense of time. For almost three hours we were starring in the sky with our heads up and soon necks to get stiff analyzing the different stars, zodiacs and the galaxies. I was impressed! Never that before have I seen the Milky-way so clear and bright. That's the big advantage of a desert. The guys constant complaint about human light pollution made it an even better experience. I'm actually pretty sure that he went back to his little observation point and spend the rest of the night there even after he dropped us off at our place! The day ended pretty authentic by falling asleep right under the clear sky. I have to say the Negev is my personal recommendation for folks who want to get a feeling about the life in the desert far away from mainstream tourism!

No 2 - Tel Aviv between Bauhaus and Street Art

This post comes a bit late, which is in fact a consequence of yesterday. So our second day was kind of intense. We started with exploring the city a bit more in detail. Going through the old streets of Neve Tsedek we saw amazing Bauhaus architecture and Banksy style street art. This was a pretty strong contrast area around Allenvy Street were our Hostel was located. Neve Tsedek is shaped by the different cultural influences. So you will find small Jewish family houses, as well as huge skyscrapers made of glass and impressive Bauhaus apartment houses. It reminds in some ways me a bit of New York in the 1950s.
In the afternoon we went to the old town of Jaffa, a magnificent place. There you get the best view on the beach and the skyline of Tel Aviv. Jaffa itself let's you feel the inconsistent history of this place. It went through the hands of the Egyptians, the Romans, the Jews, the Persians, the French, the Turkish and the British before it became part of modern Israel in 1948.
So this site is loaded with history. Going through this little art galleries in the old town. I had a long conversation with an Israeli girl. She was telling me about the protests taking place the day before. Following the demonstrations last summer, people were calling for greater social justice. Though the Israeli economy is on a good track, especially the young generation is having a hard time to find affordable housing and to cover the rising living costs. Gentrification is a big issue, also in Israel. Upcoming hip districts like Neve Tsedek exemplify that gentrification can be a blessing and a burden at the same time.
We discovered more of the hip sites of Tel Aviv by walking on Rothschild Boulevard and King George Street. This was the point were I finally realized that I forgot the pin code for my credit card at home. To be more concrete this point was reached when I entered in my old (wrong) pin three times in a row. It took me only 3 hours to find an ATM instead that accepted my German debit card.
For the evening I had arranged a meeting with my Jonathan Greenstein, a friend of mine who I've met in New York. He and his band gave an amazing jazz concert. Really strong and powerful sound and melodic and deep at the same time. After I was hanging out with him and his friends at another jazz club. I have to say that most Israelis are extremely friendly and open. Just a little example, when we entered the first bar for the night I had little chat with the bar tender about Berlin and Tel Aviv. Two minutes later she filled our glasses with free shots. In generally, telling people that you are from Berlin is a door opener per excellence! So as you can imagine, it was a short night and now we are input way to the Negev dessert. More about that later on!

I think I know how to find them!

No 1 - Some California vibe in the Middle East

Day one of our trip to Israel and I have to say I've never been to a country as boing hit as it is here. But one after another.
This day started quite early. We started around 4am from the house (yes around not exactly for the accurate Germans around us;) Nevertheless we made it perfectly on time to the airpor. First flight from Frankfurt to Vienna was so random that I already forgot about it. Oh wait, there was I guy chundering all the time. Ok I forgot about it. From Vienna on we got upgraded to Business Class. Pretty nice move from Austrian Airlines. I acknowledged it by trying the variety of their vino blanco. Landing in Israel was like: wow I am in Israel! Right so first thing happened we got double checked by security. All the smiling and little flirting with the lady at the boarder control was obviously enough. Anyways the stamps in my passport the led us through. We grabbed a taxi as public transport isn't running on Shabbat in Israel. So this funny dude, who immigrated from Georgia (not the one in the US you smart butt) 30 years ago gave us a ride to the city center. So here we are know. The sun is burning, the city seems a bit sleazy in some corners, but there is a certain vibe that make you feel being in a special place. Everyone looks totally different, people seem to come from all over the world to live here. But they are connected by the Hebrew language and the Jewish culture. And this culture seems to be fairly liberal. The whole place gives me a laid back impression. No tension or something is perceivable at all. People hang around on the beach to sport and let life be life. I'm really surprised by this relaxed atmosphere, but I like it. So we were hang out on the beach for quite a while. Later the evening we went out to explore some of Tel Avics famous nightlife. We made it to a really cool jazz bar and an English style pub. Great atmosphere, but we we were both too tiered after this day to stay out Berlin-style. However watching the football game with Israelis was a pretty nice experience. Talking about jazz. Tomorrow I'm planing on meeting with my buddy Jon, a guy from Tel Aviv I meet last year in NY! He is a pretty good jazz musician and is giving a show tomorrow. For now, I'm pretty tiered, it's late now, and I m looking forward to the day ahead of! Tel Aviv keep on being nice to me! Over and out
Btw sorry for spelling and grammar. I'm just to damn tiered to read through it again!

Tel Aviv seems to be a popular place to go

Leaving Vienna, if we ever make it through that queue.

What a busy week! For the last three days my company held an international sales meeting with partizipants from all over the world. The outcome is a major lack of sleep and some really helpful tips I got from my friend Gal from Israel. In exchange for some inside-Berlin-hints he gave me some remcommendations for our trip.

So as we should spent as much time as possible in Tel Aviv. Great town, cool people and a relaxed athmosphere are waiting for us. Haifa however may not be worth the ride. He basically meant that it is quite similar toTel Aviv but way smaller. Instead we should spent more time in Jerusalem and go to the Negev desert. The nature is impressive and its something we wouldn't see anywhere else. He meant the Dead Sea is worth going, but there's no need in spending more then a day there. Eilat though, is supposed to be a really laid-back place to be. When I asked him about the Golan Heights he basically told me that the nature is nice, but not that much different from the hills and mountains we have here in Thueringia. 

Hearing all that I was like: Maybe we should seriously reconsider our schedule. I'm going to ask some more friends from Israel. Lets see what they recommend. 

In the mean time, Norman I hope you read that post. However. I'm gonna give ya a call...

Places to go

Its an obscure dilema. Israel is one of the smaller countries and one of the densest pupulated countries in the world. But before going there you'll figure out that Israel has up to five different climate zones, a highly diverse population, is home to three world religions and has a landscape that covers beaches, toscanian style mountains and a dry almost uninhabitated desert. On top of that comes the Middle-East Conflict with all its complexity and historic routs.


All of that can be seen in a half day car ride - thats the time it takes you to get from Haifa in the North of Israel to Eilat located on the shore of the red sea.


The closer our trips get the more I want to see and experience. So we started planing. With the result that will visit by far less places then initially expected. Why is that? Just take a look at our list:


Day One: Arrival Tel Aviv
Day Two: Getting to know Tel Aviv
Day Three: Leaving Tel Aviv, Direction North: Haifa, Sea of Galilee, Golan Hights (busy day)
Day Four: Jerusalem
Day Five: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron
Day Six: Dead Sea, Negev Desert
Day Seven: Leaving Tel Aviv


As you can see that is packed. Given the fact that we don't want to rent a car, I would say it will be impossible to make this happen in the limited time we have. The point is that Isreal is small but has so much to offer that distance isn't the constraint, it's rather the factor time. I know we should have planed a longer trip. But as it isn't possible, we have to make the best out of it. So the task for the next days is to untighten this super packed schedule. Let's see how that goes and what comes out of it. I may just spend my seven days in a random beach bar in Tel Aviv. Well that doesn't sound too bad...

Das (Un-)Gleichgewicht des Schreckens

von Stefan Götz

Just als das Forschungsinstitut Sipri einen zahlenmäßigen Rückgang der weltweiten Atomwaffenarsenale verkündete, wurde bekannt, dass Israel die von Deutschland gelieferten U-Boote mit Atomraketen bestückt. Zwar ist die Anzahl der Atomwaffen weltweit zurückgegangen, allerdings werden die Arsenale der Atommächte immer moderner. Der Schritt Israels bestätigt diese Feststellung der schwedischen Wissenschaftler. Nach wie vor bilden Atomwaffen die harte Währung im globalen Spiel um Macht und Einfluss. Ein Spiel, das kaum Regeln kennt.

Die Logik hinter dem Besitz von und dem Streben nach  Atomwaffen ist dabei von einfachster Psychologie geprägt. Frei nach dem Motto „Was du nicht willst, dass man dir tu', das füg' auch keinem anderen zu“. In diesem Fall handelt es sich bei der potentiellen Tat um die totale Vernichtung. Die traditionellen Großmächte haben ihre Atomwaffen immer als Abschreckungspotential und damit Sicherheitsgarantie verstanden. Auch für Israel gilt diese Logik. Seit der Staatsgründung 1948 ist Israel umgeben von einer grundsätzlich feindlich gesinnten Umgebung. Mit dem Beginn des israelischen Atomprogrammes in den 1950er Jahren hat Jerusalem seine Atomwaffen als Abschreckung gegen diese Umwelt verstanden.

Dennoch konnten die Atombomben weder den Jom-Kippur Krieg, noch den Libanonkrieg oder die erste und zweite Intifada verhindern. Der Einsatz von Atombomben wurde von israelischer Seite zwar während des Abnutzungskrieges mit Ägypten und dem folgenden Kom-Kippur Krieg in Erwägung gezogen, aber glücklicher Weise nie durchgeführt. Nach den Friedensverträgen zwischen Israel auf der einen Seite und Jordanien und Ägypten auf der anderen Seite, hat sich die Bedrohungslage in dem kleinen Mittelmeerland grundsätzlich geändert. Kleine nicht-staatliche Akteure wie die Hamas und die Hisbollah stellen für Israel die größte unmittelbare Bedrohung da. Aus geostrategischer Sicht ist man in Jerusalem besonders durch das iranische Atomprogramm besorgt. Die Auslöschungsrethorik des iranischen Präsidenten Ahmadinejad lässt diese Sorge zu einer konkreten Angst mutieren. Vor dem Hintergrund der historischen Erfahrungen des jüdischen Volkes sollte nie wieder eine Macht im Stande sein, den Staat Israel in seiner Existenz zu bedrohen, so der Kerngedanke israelischer Außenpolitik.

Der Anspruch des Irans auf ein eigenes Atomprogramm und der höchstwahrscheinlichen Entwicklung von Atomwaffen, folgt ebenso der bereits erläuterten Logik. Dabei sind aus geostrategischer Sicht Israels und Irans Position ähnlicher als der erste Blick vermuten lässt. Der Iran ist ebenso wie Israel von Feinden umzingelt - von Saudi-Arabien hinzu dem massiven Militäraufgebot der USA in der Region. Durch den Besitz von atomaren Langstreckenraketen könnte Teheran seine Vormachtstellung in der Region ausbauen und würde ausländische Mächte effektiv abschrecken in dem schiitischen Gottesstaat  zu intervenieren. Diese beiden Anreize scheinen dabei stärker ausgeprägt, als die Angst vor wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen und dem Boykott iranischen Öls. Das Beispiel Nordkorea hat gezeigt, dass die internationale Gemeinschaft nur wenig Druckmittel hat um einen Staat vom Aufbau eines Atomwaffenprogrammes abzuhalten - besonders wenn ein Regime den Erwerb von Atomwaffen als nationale Aufgabe und Prestigeprojekt begreift.

Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es also unwahrscheinlich, dass der Iran sein Atomprogramm aufgeben wird. Nun mag mach ein Beobachter argumentieren, dass sich die internationale Gemeinschaft auf lange Sicht auf einen nuklear bewaffneten Mittleren Osten einstellen werden muss. Schließlich hätte das Gleichgewicht des Schreckens auch während des Kalten Krieges Stabilität garantiert. 

Dies stimmt nur auf den ersten Blick. 

Während des Eisernen Vorhanges stand die Welt zum wiederholten Male vor dem Ausbruch eines nuklear geführten Weltkrieges - entweder bewusst, wie während der Kuba-Krise oder unbewusst auf Grund technischen Versagens, wie 1983 als die russische Satellitenüberwachung den Start amerikanischer Nuklearakten meldete. Ebenso spielt der Faktor Mensch eine entscheidende Rolle, so wurde ebenfalls 1983 das NATO-Manöver Able Archer 83 durch die Aufklärung des Warschauer Blocks als verdeckter echter nuklearer Angriff gedeutet. Obwohl beide Supermächte über das rote Telefon in Kontakt standen, kann im Rückblick von echter Stabilität keine Rede sein. Im Israelisch-Iranischen Konflikt existiert solch ein Sicherheitmechanismus nicht einmal. Beide Länder haben keine diplomatischen Kontakte und die Kommunikation findet hauptsächlich über externe Medien statt. Eine hochgradig gefährliche Situation.  Nuklearwaffen werden im Nahen Osten zu keinem Gleichgewicht führen. Ganz im Gegenteil, sie werden das Konfliktpotential erhöhen und bringen die Gefahr eines Atomkrieges mit sich.

Israel ist dabei alleine durch seine Größe besonders gefährdet und wird daher als „one bomb country“ bezeichnet. Dementsprechend eifrig ist die israelische Regierung, den Iran unter allen Umständen von der Produktion von Nuklearwaffen abzuhalten. Ein israelischer Angriff auf den Iran würde die Bestrebungen des Mullah-Regimes höchstens um einige Jahre verzögern. Der Preis wäre ein regionaler Konflikt, der unsägliches Leid über die Völker des Nahen Ostens bringen würde und Israels Verteidigungsfähigkeit auf das Maximum ausreizen würde. Dies kann und darf kein Szenario für die Zukunft sein. Die internationale Gemeinschaft muss alles tun um eine nukleares Wettrüsten in der Region zu verhindern. Dazu gehört es den Iran vom Bau der Atomprogramm abzuhalten, aber auch das Israelische Atomwaffenprogramm international zu überwachen. Es muss ein Anreizsystem geschaffen werden unter dem beide Länder langfristig bereit sind ihre Atombomben aufzugeben. Eine Option könnte es sein Israel in die nukleare Teilhabe der USA einzubinden und den Iran unter den russischen Schutzschirm zustellen. Damit wäre zwar die Gefahr eines globalen Atomkrieges nicht gebannt, aber beide Länder hätten Ihre Souveränität garantiert und dem Draht Washington-Moskau würde wieder eine entscheidende Bedeutung zukommen. In einer multipolaren Welt eine unerlässliche Bedingung.

Soweit ist dieses Szenario allerdings reine Spekulation und die Zukunft des Nahen Ostens bleibt weiter ungewiss.

Der Krieg der Worte, den keiner wollte und niemand braucht

von Stefan Götz

Seit Tagen bestimmt ein Thema die Tagesschau: Die Reise des Bundespräsidenten nach Israel. Dabei entzündet sich in Deutschland gerade eine Debatte an der Frage, ob Joachim Gauck die Äußerung der Bundeskanzlerin vor der Knesset 2008 abgeschwächt oder sogar revidiert habe. Angela Merkel hatte damals die Sicherheit Israels als Teil deutscher Staatsräson bezeichnet. Nun zeigt sich an der Diskussion wieder einmal, wie leicht die deutsche Öffentlichkeit zu Scheindebatten tendiert. Die eigentlichen Gefahren im Nahen Osten geraten dabei aus dem Blickfeld.

Durch das schreckliche Massaker von Hula hat der Bürgerkrieg im benachbarten Syrien eine weitere Eskalationsstufe erreicht. Den öffentlichen Überlegungen des Französischen Präsidenten Hollande über eine militärische Intervention werden wohl kaum konkrete militärische Konsequenzen folgen. Zu unterschiedlich sind die Positionen zwischen dem Westen und dem Block Russland-China, aber auch innerhalb der NATO herrschen massive Vorbehalte gegenüber einem militärischen Vorgehen. Dies ist verständlich.

Die  Ängste vor den Kosten und Gefahren eines womöglich langwierigen Engagements in der Region sind in allen politischen Lagern ausgeprägt. Die Europäer haben nicht vergessen, wie lange sich der Libyen-Einsatz hinzog, obwohl das Land nur 6 Millionen Einwohner hat und Colonel Gaddafis Armee äußerst schwach ausgebildet war. Besonders die Zurückhaltung der Amerikaner hat sich in diesem Konflikt als die operative Achillesferse der NATO herausgestellt. In der jetzigen Syrien-Krise machen die Amerikaner sogar ganz unverhohlen ihren Zweifeln an einem militärischen Einsatz Luft.

Es ist daher höchste Zeit, dass die Europäische Union sich ihrer außenpolitischen Verantwortung bewusst wird. Die Länder Europas werden in Zukunft mehr und mehr gefordert sein, ihre Sicherheit selbst in die Hand zu nehmen. Die proaktive Forderung von François Hollande nach einer militärischen Intervention ist dabei ein Schritt in die richtige Richtung. Es geht nicht um unilaterale Kriegserklärungen oder die Nichtbeachtung des Völkerrechts und der Vereinten Nationen. Ganz im Gegenteil. Die EU muss im Zweifelsfall bereit sein diplomatischen und militärischen Druck aufzubauen. Nur so können Menschenrechte und eigene Sicherheitsinteressen aktiv vertreten werden. Genau diese Punkte sind durch die Lage in Syrien bedroht. Das Regime in Damaskus zeigt keine Anzeichen dem Abschlachten Einhalt zu gebieten. Währenddessen steigt die Gefahr, dass sich der Konflikt zu einem regionalen Flächenbrand ausweitet.

Spätestens an diesem Punkt ist die deutsche Israel-Politik betroffen. Die gegenwärtige Debatte vernachlässigt diese entscheidenden Rahmenbedingungen. Stattdessen wird heißblütig darüber debattiert, ob Deutschland im Falle eines Krieges zwischen Israel und dem Iran der Regierung in Tel Aviv militärischen Beistand leisten soll oder nicht. Eine obskure und unrealistische Fragestellung! Die Israelis benötigen für einen dauerhaft wirksamen Militärschlag gegen den Iran in erster Linie die logistische und militärtechnische Unterstützung durch die USA. Sie werden wohl kaum als Alternative auf die Bundeswehr setzen. Deutschland kann diese Rolle gar nicht ausfüllen. Warum wird diese geo-strategische Fragestellung dann so intensiv in Deutschland geführt? Man wird das Gefühl nicht los, dass die Beweggründe woanders liegen. Es ist vielmehr die tiefsitzende Frage: „Wie viel Kritik an Israel ist erlaubt?“, die die Politikseiten und Feuilletons der deutschen Presse umtreibt.  Der Bundespräsident hat darauf eine einfache, aber weise Antwort gegeben; das deutsch-israelische Verhältnis ist geprägt durch den „Geist der Freundschaft“ und da ist  „auch Platz für Kritik, nicht aber für Vorurteile“. Diesem Grundsatz folgend, sollte sich die deutsche Regierung um eine aktive Nahostpolitik bemühen. Dazu gehört es, Israel für seine völkerrechtswidrige Siedlungspolitik zu kritisieren, aber ebenso Israels Sicherheitsbedenken wörtlich zunehmen und einen belastbaren Standpunkt im Umgang mit Syrien einzunehmen. Der Bürgerkrieg in Syrien hat schon längst das Potential eines regionalen Konfliktes. Mittlerweile bekämpfen sich Assads Gegner und Unterstützer auch im Libanon. Die israelischen Grenzen sind nicht mehr weit.

Die Folgen eines regionalen Konfliktes wären auch für Europa verheerend.  Dringender denn je müssen sich die Europäer vor diesem Hintergrund auf eine aktive Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik verständigen. Nun scheint die EU durch die Krise des Euros hinreichend mit sich selbst beschäftigt zu sein. Vieleicht ist es aber auch genau der richtige Zeitpunkt für Europa sich wieder auf seine Kernideen Demokratie und Menschenrechte zu fokussieren und durch eine gemeinsame Außenpolitik den Zusammenhalt Europas neu zu beleben.