After consultations with his gov’t, having traveled to Israel to participate in Holocaust Memorial Day, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel chose to meet with two blatantly anti-Israel NGOs over a meeting with Israel’s elected Prime Minister.

By Tsvi Sadan

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel made a choice during his visit to Israel. He chosen to meet with two subversive NGOs rather than sit with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Gabriel’s choice would be akin to a visit to Germany by Israel’s Foreign Minister during which he met with German NGOs investigating German soldiers for war crimes in Afghanistan rather than meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin meets with visiting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel at his residence on April 25, 2017 – Photo: Mark Neiman/GPO

What makes Gabriel’s choice even more aggravating is the fact that his visit was part of Germany’s participation in Holocaust Memorial Day. Not unrelated is the fact that Gabriel’s father was an avowed Nazi until the day he died in 2012, at the age of 91. Though this does not makes him one, it should have made him all the more sensitive.

Further still, Gabriel’s choice was made after a week of exchanges between himself and Netanyahu’s office. In other words, Gabriel’s choice was Germany’s choice to prefer blatant anti-Israel NGOs over the elected Prime Minister of Israel.

The two organizations he met with are B’Tzelem and Breaking the Silence, groups that exist only to vilify Israel. Germany is supporting these organizations with millions of euros, thus blatantly interfering in Israel’s internal affairs. For too long now, Israel has turned a blind eye to foreign governments’ intervention, these attempts to make Israel capitulate to the European radical left agenda, an agenda that is becoming increasingly antisemitic.

Eldad Beck, a journalist who lived for many years in Germany, and who is well versed in German politics, wrote for the Mida news portal that Sigmar’s was a deliberate and well calculated provocation.

“Anyone claiming that the German Foreign Minister didn’t know about the explosive nature of his meeting with Breaking the Silence and B’Tzelem,” writes Beck, “is throwing dust in your eyes. The German government, German political parties and private and government funds are among the largest supporters of [Israeli] left-wing organizations.”

Given this background, Netanyahu, for the first time, has drawn a clear red line: “My policy is clear,” he said, “not to meet with diplomats who visit Israel and engage with organizations that slander Israeli soldiers and seek to have them put on trial as war criminals.”

Commenting on Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the meeting with him, Sigmar mislead observers by presenting subversive organizations as legitimate “civil organizations, some of which are critical of the government.” He also said that “we do not want to enter the Israeli political game.”

What Sigmar would not state was the names of these “civil organizations” that Germany supports. These are the most radical, not civil, but political NGOs disguised as civil organizations.

According to NGO Monitor, Germany supports organizations engaged in legal warfare and advancing boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Among those receiving money from Germany are the “Women’s Coalition for Peace,” “Physicians for Human Rights,” and “Zochrot” – an organization calling for the return of all Palestinian refugees to Israel (in other words, Israel’s destruction).

Germany also supports Palestinian organizations like Miftah, which has accused Israel of apartheid, cultural genocide and war crimes.

View original Israel Today publication at:
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/31515/Default.aspx