and the former leader of the german interior intelligence the “constitution protection” is spurting antisemitic dogwhistles over twitter and running as a candidate for Germanys conservative party. When he was accused of antisemitism for talking about “globalists” and other antisemitic conspiracies, the federal commissioner to fight antisemitism defended him, saying that this serious accusation should not be used lighthearted.
Nice spin!
Following the antisemitic tweets of Maaßen in January 2023, the national board of the conservative party decided unanimously to initiate proceedings to have him expelled from the party. Due to historical reasons, removing someone from a party against their will is notoriously hard in Germany. And so, in June 2023, a district party court rejected these expulsion proceedings and reinstated his member rights, but there also have been numerous calls by party colleagues for him to leave the party.
Concerning the Anti-Semitism Commissioner of the Federal Government, Klein has been relatively clear with his condemnation of Maaßen’s January tweets. He accused him of relativising the Holocaust by “adopting vocabulary that was coined to describe National Socialist crimes”. The distortion of the roles of perpetrator and victim was “typical of anti-Semitic incitement” and the strategy of the New Right to turn itself into a victim.
In 2021, following an accusation of antisemitism on live national tv by climate activist Neubauer towards Maaßen, Klein said:
“The accusation of anti-Semitism is a sharp sword and requires clear and unambiguous evidence. Anyone who makes this accusation should be aware of their responsibility for German history. It is our duty as citizens of this country to state this clearly and precisely”
This was because Neubauer, besides (rightfully, imo) accusing Maaßen of being antisemitic, couldn’t produce concrete evidence to support her statement. I don’t read Klein’s statement as a defence of Maaßen but rather a warning against the “thoughtless” use of the word in order to preserve its gravity.
Besides, which opinion of Klein shall we take into consideration in 2023? The one from 2021 or the one from 2023?
By omitting his most recent opinion on the matter, you create a spin. I don’t think this platform should partake in the general trend of decreasing quality of discussions.
So if you feel the quality of discussions to decrease and that i would give a false spin, i’d like to make up with a worthwhile read on the role of Klein and other Antisemitism comissioners in Germany, that see their role not in protecting the jewish communities and adressing the widespread antisemitism in Germanys mainstream society, but instead focus on creating the appearance of a redeemed Germany by deflecting from antisemitism among ethnic Germans and conflate criticism towards Israel with antisemitism.
I wasnt aware that Klein changed his mind on Maaßen at last, but i think it is quite evident that in 2021 his intention was to defend Maaßen, as the “lacking evidence” was easily available on Maaßens Twitter account.
If Klein had taken a look and a stance back then, it could have prevented a lot of antisemitism being spread by Maaßen in the political right with impunity for another year and a half. This is coherent with the criticism in the linked article, that the antisemitism comissioners are seeing their priority in creating the narrative of a German mainstream society opposed to antisemitism, rather than fighting the widespread antisemitism in it.
Nice spin!
Following the antisemitic tweets of Maaßen in January 2023, the national board of the conservative party decided unanimously to initiate proceedings to have him expelled from the party. Due to historical reasons, removing someone from a party against their will is notoriously hard in Germany. And so, in June 2023, a district party court rejected these expulsion proceedings and reinstated his member rights, but there also have been numerous calls by party colleagues for him to leave the party.
Concerning the Anti-Semitism Commissioner of the Federal Government, Klein has been relatively clear with his condemnation of Maaßen’s January tweets. He accused him of relativising the Holocaust by “adopting vocabulary that was coined to describe National Socialist crimes”. The distortion of the roles of perpetrator and victim was “typical of anti-Semitic incitement” and the strategy of the New Right to turn itself into a victim.
In 2021 Klein defended Maaßen https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/maassen-verschwoerungsideologien-cdu-antisemitismus-1.5299852?reduced=true
In 2021, following an accusation of antisemitism on live national tv by climate activist Neubauer towards Maaßen, Klein said:
“The accusation of anti-Semitism is a sharp sword and requires clear and unambiguous evidence. Anyone who makes this accusation should be aware of their responsibility for German history. It is our duty as citizens of this country to state this clearly and precisely”
This was because Neubauer, besides (rightfully, imo) accusing Maaßen of being antisemitic, couldn’t produce concrete evidence to support her statement. I don’t read Klein’s statement as a defence of Maaßen but rather a warning against the “thoughtless” use of the word in order to preserve its gravity.
Besides, which opinion of Klein shall we take into consideration in 2023? The one from 2021 or the one from 2023?
By omitting his most recent opinion on the matter, you create a spin. I don’t think this platform should partake in the general trend of decreasing quality of discussions.
i based my comment on this throughout article in the jewish currents, that i also posted to this sub before.
https://jewishcurrents.org/the-strange-logic-of-germanys-antisemitism-bureaucrats
So if you feel the quality of discussions to decrease and that i would give a false spin, i’d like to make up with a worthwhile read on the role of Klein and other Antisemitism comissioners in Germany, that see their role not in protecting the jewish communities and adressing the widespread antisemitism in Germanys mainstream society, but instead focus on creating the appearance of a redeemed Germany by deflecting from antisemitism among ethnic Germans and conflate criticism towards Israel with antisemitism.
I wasnt aware that Klein changed his mind on Maaßen at last, but i think it is quite evident that in 2021 his intention was to defend Maaßen, as the “lacking evidence” was easily available on Maaßens Twitter account.
If Klein had taken a look and a stance back then, it could have prevented a lot of antisemitism being spread by Maaßen in the political right with impunity for another year and a half. This is coherent with the criticism in the linked article, that the antisemitism comissioners are seeing their priority in creating the narrative of a German mainstream society opposed to antisemitism, rather than fighting the widespread antisemitism in it.
From the article you linked:
Then i’m sorry that i forgot that from the article and i am happy that Klein changed his mind on Maaßen at last.