Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

German Jewish president wants assertive policy against Iran's regime

German Jewish president wants assertive policy against Iran's regime

“I cannot understand the German voting behavior at the UN in any way. It would be good if an optician could readjust German foreign policy in dealing with Iran.”
The president of Germany’s roughly 100,000 member Jewish community urged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Foreign Ministry to show more toughness against the Islamic Republic of Iran and reverse her top diplomat’s anti-Israel voting record at the UN.

Josef Schuster, the German Jewish community president, on Friday told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), a Swiss German-language daily newspaper, that "I really expect more bite from German foreign policy" in connection with Merkel’s approach toward the Iranian regime.

He told NZZ reporter Alexander Kissler that the Hamburg city-state government should pull the plug on its cooperation agreement with the Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Center Hamburg.

Kissler asked Schuster about the pro-Israel group German-Israel Friendship Society in Hamburg urging a Hamburg district not to re-nominate MP Niels Annen because he serves as a “door opener for the Iranian mullahs.”

Annen is also a social democratic deputy foreign minister who has shown sympathy for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign targeting Israel. The Bundestag classified BDS as an antisemitic movement last year.

The NZZ journalist questioned Schuster about Germany’s “frequent joint voting with states hostile to Israel” at the UN.

“I cannot understand the German voting behavior at the UN in any way. It would be good if an optician could readjust German foreign policy in dealing with Iran,” said Schuster.

When asked about the BDS campaign, Schuster said that, “in general, if I may be ironic, it is much more elegant for antisemites not to speak of ‘the Jews’ but of Israel. Of course, the policy of the Israeli government can and may be criticized – as well as the policy of the German government.”

But he qualified that, saying "if Israel's right to exist is called into question, or if Israel is measured by different standards than all other countries, then it is no longer a legitimate criticism. Some even allow themselves to be carried away to the unspeakable comparison that Israel deals with the Palestinians today as the National Socialists did with the Jews in the past. That is completely absurd.”

He said there is “left-wing antisemitism.”

Schuster declined to answer a Jerusalem Post press query about three German left-wing MPs on the advisory board of a BDS group that calls for the elimination of Israel.

THE PRESIDENT of German's Central Council of Jews has faced criticism over the last few months for turning inward toward political BDS and avoiding criticism of Merkel’s reportedly anti-Israel and pro-Iranian regime policies.

Daniel Killy, a German Jewish journalist and activist, told the Post that “I very much regret that the Central Council is unable to take a position against the BDS ideology of the three MPs. In addition to the free courage to take a stand against classic antisemitism from the far-right, it would be high time to finally recognize that the so-called Palestine solidarity and alleged anti-Zionism are at least equally poisoned forms of antisemitism.”

He added that, "In any case, social blinders and ostentatious silence do not help the Central Council any further! We should also be able to expect leadership against any form of antisemitism from the leadership of German Jewry.” Schuster did not respond to a Post query about Killy’s comment.

The Post exclusively reported in August that Schuster ignored a proposed briefing from a top US government official about the dangers of the Iranian regime, as well as about American efforts to impose snapback sanctions on Tehran to stop the Islamic Republic from purchasing conventional weapons and building a nuclear military device. Merkel’s government did not oppose extending the UN weapons embargo against Tehran.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told the Post at the time that the briefing from the US official “is exactly the kind of information that key European Jewish leaders would want to have in hand on an issue that will impact Jews in Europe and elsewhere in the future. It was disappointing.”

Henryk Broder, the best-selling German-Jewish author who is Germany’s leading expert on antisemitism, asked Schuster if he plans to critically respond to German historian Wolfgang Benz, who denied that BDS is hostile to Jews and antisemitic.

Benz, a historian of antisemitism who honored his Nazi doctoral supervisor Karl Bosl, said that “the BDS movement is not in itself antisemitic. It recommends a political means to achieve a political purpose. It goes against the policy of the State of Israel. It's not about Jews.”

Schuster declined to respond to Broder's query.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×