Is it a row or just a tiff brewing between German and Israel?
“…We are not like the Nazis,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the German Minister Annalena Baerbock when she visited Israel last Week.
The comment was part of an altercation between Baerbock and Netanyahu when the latter insisted there was no famine and Gaza but the German Foreign Minister kept pushing the point, at which time Netanyahu raised his voice at her.
The altercation which was supposed to be kept in private but was leaked through the Israeli and Germany media set the balling rolling on the X platform with many bloggers reporting the incident that may sour Israeli-German relations despite the fact Germany is seen as one of the main suppliers of weapons to Israel led by the United States and Britian.
https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1781346615762014497/photo/1
One said the phrase “We are not like the Nazis” was made by Netanyahu “to guilt trip” Baerbock and “I think German’s current generation should realize that they are not responsible about what the Nazis did…a child should not be responsible for the crimes of his father.”
Another pointed out that “if you have to say “we are not like the Nazis, it’s a sign that you are exactly like the Nazis,” with the blogger pointing out US president Joe Biden should stop sending “billions of our tax dollars and put our military in harm’s way to support Nazis.”
The problem all started when Baerbock sought to show Netanyahu and his Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer photos of hungry Gaza children on her phone. Netanyahu responded by showing her Gazan children on the beach with Gazan market stalls plentiful.
But Baerbock was not convinced and told the two Israel should stop circulating images showing life is returning to normal in Gaza. She said Gaza is being starved on the point of famine and this desperate situation is being relayed by German doctors on the ground in Gaza.
At this point Netanyahu got visibly angry and raised his voice: “We are not like the Nazis,” he told her whilst raising his voice. In World War II the Nazis took films showing the Jews are not being starved and in favorable conditions.
Meanwhile, the comments on the social media keep coming. An X comment blurted that “Netanyahu puts Nazis to shame, adding what he really means to say was that “we are not like the Nazis, we are worse than the Nazis.” Another pointed outed “if you need to say “we are not like the Nazis’ its pretty bad already isn’t it.”
The phrase used by Netanyahu continues to generate a lot of comments with blogger from the UK saying that “after being challenged about Israel spreading deceitful photos about the hideous reality of Gaza, Netanyahu snapped: “Its real. Its reality. It’s not like what the Nazis staged, we’re not like the Nazis who produced fake images of a manufactured reality.”
The German Foreign Ministry has denied there is a row brewing between Germany and Israel. German officials are irked about the way this incident was leaked and reported, saying this is not how it happened and that the Israeli media had distorted the news.
Dr Asmar from Jordan writes on Middle East Affairs
