At a press conference on August 17th, the Palestinian President Mahmut Abbas spoke with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about “50 Holocausts committed by Israel against Palestinians”. Olaf Scholz should have reacted immediately and strongly, rather than ending the press conference, regardless of whether he angered the guest. How could the Chancellor not immediately contradict this statement, allowing it to remain in the room!
Instead, it was only later that the government spokesman expressed Scholz’ regret not to have reacted at once and left it to his spokesman to state that he was “deeply outraged by the unspeakable statements made by Palestinian President Abbas. For us Germans in particular, any relativisation of the Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable.”
The ARD correspondent Georg Schwarte considered the Chancellor’s statement to be correct – but clearly too late. Schwarte unequivocally expressed his outrage at the “loud silence”. It had taken 16 long hours before the Chancellor tweeted in seven lines “on what is probably one of the biggest calculated taboo breaches that a President has ever committed in the Berlin Chancellery.” Moreover, the Chancellor’s spokesman had then spoken of all things to a tabloid to say that the Chancellor was truly outraged.
Schwarte pointed out that Israel’s security was a matter of German reason of state: “The uniqueness of the crime named Holocaust is the guilt and shame of Germans.” Relativisation and comparison with the Holocaust and its six million dead, what was more within the seat of office of the Germany’s Chancellor was “outrageous and would have needed more than just a petrified expression and helpless gesture.”
No one doubts Scholz’s sincere attitude towards anti-Semitism and solidarity with Israel. It is his skill with communication that is in question. A German Chancellor should have reacted strongly to a statement of “50 Holocausts”. His office should have been prepared for such eventuality, as it is no secret that such statements were frequently uttered by Abbas. Thus he repeated the unjustified apartheid accusation against Israel once more last year at the UN. The Chancellor had spoken up against the apartheid slur, but on the Holocaust issue had remained silent.
Will this silence have an echo? Hard to say. Mr. Schwarte is to be lauded for his candid comments. He had also justifiably pointed out, that Federal Chancellor could have walked the Palestinian President to the Shoah memorial and made it clear to him, what Germany thought about the unique crime and Germany’s guilt of it. The incident is a blatant affront of German politics, hospitality and diplomacy.