Behind the Headlines Anti-israel, Anti-semitic Expressions Abound in W. Germany

Widespread anti-Israel and anti-Semitic expressions are continuing unabated as Israel continues its military action in Lebanon against Palestinian forces.

In recent days Ambassador Yitzhak Ben Ari of Israel was prevented several times from taking the floor at public meetings in various West German cities to present Israel’s viewpoint on the situation in Lebanon. In West Berlin some 2,000 people participated in an anti-Israeli march, carrying banners equating the Israelis with the Nazis.

In two separate cases in Essen (the Ruhr area) and West Berlin, there were attempts to attack German journalists because they allegedly deviated from the general anti-Israel tone of the media. In Essen, the editorial office of the Neue Ruhr Zeitung was taken over for some time by 20 youths.

In West Berlin, the flat of Johann Legner, a correspondent of the Tageszeitung of Berlin, was picketed by an “anti-fascist commando.” The “commando” left after painting anti-Semitic slogans on the walls of the house and breaking window pones in the flat. In both cases, the journalists were not present at the time of the incidents.

POLICE INCREASE SECURITY MEASURES

Several influential Jewish community leaders throughout the country have received threatening telephone calls. Some of the callers warned that Jews should leave the country as soon as possible “before it is too late.”

Police have increased considerably security measures around synagogues and other Jewish institutions throughout Germany, saying that they were taking seriously the telephone calls. Security has also been increased around the already heavily guarded Israel Embassy in Bonn, near which some 20 people demonstrated yesterday carrying banners equating the Jewish people with the Nazis.

BLAMES INFLUENTIAL POLITICIANS

In a lengthy statement published in West Berlin, the chairman of the Jewish community there, Heinz Galinski, said that the anti-Semitic wave in the country has made Jews increasingly nervous. “They cannot enjoy a quiet night’s sleep anymore,” he said. Many individuals and groups in the Federal Republic, Galinski observed, are exploiting what they consider to be a “favorable occasion” (the situation in Lebanon) to evade responsibility for the Nazi era by condemning Israel as “Nazi.”

He noted that many influential politicians are to be blamed for the new anti-Semitic atmosphere in the country. “This time,” Galinski said, “the new wave did not filter upwards to the politicans from the grassroots. They themselves set the guide-lines by over criticizing Israel. With the help of television, this attitude penetrated every home and affected the public in a chain reaction.”

Galinski’s statement expressed deep regret over what it termed “the silence of many whom we regard as our friends.” It asked; “Why did many of our friends abandon us as anti-Jewish views became loud in many places in this country ?”

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Bonn government, Lothar Ruhl, said yesterday that the government was reacting cautiously to reports that PLO chief Yasir Arafat had agreed to recognize Israel’s right to exist. The spokesman said the West German government had not been informed directly on the matter.

At the same time, Bundestag Deputy Juergen Moellemann, one of the most vigorous supporters of the Arab cause here, called on the government to open immediately an official dialogue with the PLO. His colleague, Manfred Vorher, urged the government to suspend the DM 140 million loan given annually to Israel for development projects. Both Moellemann and Vorher are members of the Free Democratic Party, the junior party in the government coalition headed by the Social Democratic Party.