Germany won’t arrest Netanyahu ‘because of its Nazi history’
Germany won’t arrest Netanyahu ‘because of its Nazi history’
European nations split after Israeli PM is made subject of ICC warrant over alleged war crimes
Tldr, the headline makes it sound as if Germany is outright refusing to arrest Netanyahu right now. That headline is clickbait and only partially right:
- 1 German government spokesperson gave a muddied non-response, questioning the authority of the ICC
- There is no Netanyahu or Gallant visit planned
- The current German government is on its way out (although the likelihood of a harder stance on Israel under a new government is slim)
Germany. You NEED to arrest him BECAUSE of the nazi history. Never again means never again. Not arresting him means now you're accountable for 2 genocides.
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As a former colonial power and during WWII, Germans committed at least 2 genocides.
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There is a major difference between committing a genocide and watching/minorly aiding another nation committing a genocide. I'd argue that German influence on Israeli behavior is minor—but that's admittedly conjecture.
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Around 70% of the German populace are currently against delivering weapons to Israel (according to Körber Foundation). There's a disconnect between people and government at times.
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Here a less sensationalist headline and more nuanced article:
DW is run by the German government to further the image of Germany abroad.
The mere fact that the government refuses to acknowledge the ICCs competence to issue the warrant and the obligation to enforce it as a member state, instead saying it needs to examine first, is an attack on the court.
When pressed on the matter in todays press conference they said the ICCs jurisdiction to be " not uncontested" despite the ICC having ruled this in 2021. And stating Germanys historical responsibility and calling arrests "hypothetical" and "difficult to imagine" show a warped understanding of what courts and laws are.
There is no exception. There is no individual alteration by a state. The orders of the court are to be respected and enforced if possible.
This is an "only yes means yes" kind of situation.
Be that as it may, the headline with its convenient won't is clickbait. Not only is the current German government on its way out, there is also no planned Netanyahu visit, and the answer given was as muddied as possible.
You're reading that "examinate" in a very specific way. Baerbock says:
"We abide by the law at the national, European, and international level," she said. "And that is why we are now examining exactly what this means for us in terms of its international application."
She didn't say "we'll examine whether we're bound to arrest him", in fact she implicitly said the opposite ("we abide by law") but "we are examining what it means for us". As in: They're looking into how to tell the Israelis that nope, Netanyahu better not come over because the government can't give him diplomatic immunity when the courts would rather have him arrested. If Netanyahu wants to he could make a scene out of that and how to deal with that kind of situation is, well, what diplomats get paid for. What's for sure is that Germany won't spring a trap on him, saying he can come but then arresting him.
Ideally, Israel will extradite him once he's out of office, or just plainly try him themselves. How to tell the Israelis that that's indeed the best move they could make (not the left they would happily string up Bibi themselves but people like Gantz) is another thing worth examination.
I would be inclined to say that I have difficulty imagining that we would make arrests in Germany on this basis.
So a nice way of saying that Germany is not going to arrest him.
A Murdoch owned paper, I cringe everytime people share the telegraph
Germany, you are not a nazi if you arrest a genocidal maniac. By arresting him you are proving you are not a nazi.
Sounds like what Nazi would do.
It's their choice, but by not arresting him, they are weakening the international rule of law for everyone and basically giving dictators worldwide arguments to use when the rule of international law turns of them.
I hope it's worth it, for whatever misguided mission Germany is on about. We'll just be waiting for the apologies to the victims of this other genocide 30-40 years from now, for another "dark past" of Germany, and hope there won't be an abrupt overcorrection to helping the other side perpetrate a genocide, since, as we are seeing, Germany is not solid on sensible middle terms. It is possible to both support Judaism and not support genocide simultaneously.
Hell, it would even be possible to support an Israeli state and protect a Palestinian state if world leaders had half a spine.
There is a difference between aiding and committing genocide. So the more likely outcome is that Germany looses its special relationship with Israel. Especially if the US looses its.
Also lets be real. The phrasing they used was that it is difficult to imagine an arrest of Netanyahu in Germany. That can be easily had by him not traveling to Germany.
It is possible to both support Judaism and not support genocide simultaneously.
The world is constantly proving for one year now that it is indeed not possible to have a nuanced view.
You can't criticise a single thing about Israel's government without people losing their mind and cursing you genocidal anti-semitism. Neither can you even mention Palestinians dying without every nazi and their grandma coming to cheer for you.
Nuanced opinions died with nuanced and informed media years ago. Now it only about narratives, loud screaming and who can act the most outraged. Welcome to moron's tribalism in a post-factual world.