(Jewish Group) Germany's surging far-right party is trying to attract an unlikely group of voters...

[steve2470]

Germany's surging far-right party is trying to attract an unlikely group of voters: Jews


Germany's surging far-right party is trying to attract an unlikely group of voters: Jews
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/09/25/germanys-surging-far-right-party-is-launching-an-association-attract-an-unlikely-group-voters-jews/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7556a46c0a80

COLOGNE, Germany — Judging from some of the headlines the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has prompted, one wouldn’t assume that it’s also seeking to be an alternative for Germany’s Jewish voters.

For instance, party leader Alexander Gauland stated quite recently that “Hitler and the Nazis are just a speck of birds--- in over 1,000 years of successful German history.” Last year, leading AfD figure Björn Höcke called Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial a “memorial of disgrace” and urged Germans to stop feeling guilty for Nazi crimes. Then there’s AfD politician Martin Hohmann, who just celebrated his return to Parliament after more than a decade’s absence following his expulsion from the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party over anti-Semitic remarks.

Yet, on Oct. 7, the AfD is expected to launch its first Jewish association, in a move that has triggered a fierce backlash among other Jewish organizations. The announcement comes as the AfD’s popularity across the country is growing, with polls showing it ahead of the center-left Social Democrats as the country’s second-most-popular party.

The controversial launch of the AfD’s Jewish association also comes after months of anti-Semitic incidents that have rattled German Jewish communities. Even though top AfD officials have publicly condemned the incidents, Jewish organizations have accused the far-right party of playing into the hands of anti-Semites.

[David__77]

1. A majority is supporting rightist parties according to a recent poll.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_German_federal_election

CDU/CSU - 27
AfD - 18
SPD - 16
Green - 14.5
Left - 11.5
FDP - 10

That's 55% for CDU/CSU, AfD, and FDP.

That's only 42% for SPD, Left, and Greens - that's unfortunate.

It seems that some traditional left constituency respondents might report supporting right-wing parties. I imagine it relates to SPD's "pro-European" position.

It's unfortunate the AfD figure chooses to minimize Hitler and national socialism. It's possible to have a sovereign Germany that is also anti-fascist.

[MosheFeingold]

2. I'm actually familiar with this

Due to a plane ride, sitting next to a German National. (I am a native German speaker.)

Basically, I was told a tale that the nationalistic right (not the same thing as “right” in the USA) in Germany admits freely that the Shoa was a terrible crime and mistake.

Because .... and this is where it gets weird . . . Jewish people are clearly smart and productive and good citizens —- using Israel and the USA as examples of Jewish exceptionalism.

And here is where it gets weirder: they posit that Hitler’s mistake was targeting the Jews, because with the Jews’ brains, Germany would have been unstoppable.

And here it goes off the rails: They view the Africans and Muslims as the new untermenchen (look it up) that need to be expelled.

They blame the violence against Jewish people to be largely a product of Muslims and Africans, with the “rare” white-on-Jew crime being the result of rebellion against repressive anti-white politics in Germany.

The problem is, there are nuggets of half-truths in all this, it frees them from Hitler-guilt, and feeds what is apparently some kind of manifest destiny, writ German.

The EDL (?) in the UK has much the same approach, but without the need to side-step the Shoa — and they have attracted a number of Jewish members who are fearful of persecution by Muslim immigrants.

Anyway, aside from not getting me killed in a concentration camp, I am glad to have Europe long behind me.

[Bfd]

3. Wow! Thank you for that information. It is quite intriguing to hear from

someone who is well informed as to these details.

Appreciate your post.

[MosheFeingold]

4. I have practice listening to nuts

I was a Congressional aide/staffer (numerous positions) for a long time. The calls we got were bizarre.

And before that, I interviewed Nazis/German soldiers (and there was a distinction there), shortly after the war.

I learned to listen, ask neutral questions, and keep my opinion to myself.

If you come to understand their logic, you can often find a way to resolve the problem.

Germany does have heavy-handed "white guilt" -- quite deserved, IMHO. But kids two or three generations later, just feel the boot on their neck, for something great-grandpa did. It breeds resentment.

And German has done a piss-poor job of assimilating immigrants, both due to that guilt and heavy-handedness and simply because of the huge numbers of immigrants. And, let's face it, a solid plurality of the immigrants are bringing with them very bad habits and beliefs from home regarding Jews, women, LBGTQ, and other religions, in general. So they have the grain of a legitimate beef.

Just dismissing them as "racists" (although many are just that) and ignoring the legitimate beefs is a way to lose the middle to the radicals.