A recent article in German weekly Der Spiegel makes anti-Semitic accusations against Jewish organizations in the country that work to promote the struggle against the hatred of Jews and the recognition of Israel's positions.
The report accuses two organizations, Promoting Values and the Middle East Peace Forum, of using "dubious methods" to wage a "focused campaign" aimed at changing Germany's Middle Easy policies to better conform to those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. A number of journalists behind the article have in the past written reports that were found to have been fabricated.
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According to the report in Der Spiegel, the aforementioned organizations have ties to the Strategic Affairs Ministry's international campaign against the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and acted "aggressively" to promote the decision by the Bundestag to define BDS as anti-Semitic and call to withhold government funding from organizations with ties to the anti-Israel movement.
In its report, Der Spiegel quotes members of Germany's parliament as claiming the decision was unnecessary and only made as a result of "systemic influence and pressure" from Promoting Values founder and German Jewish activist Dario Adler.
Founded just a few years back in response to increasing anti-Semitism in Germany, Promoting Values aims to raise public and political awareness of the positions of Germany's Jewish community. Until recently, Adler also served on the Middle East Peace Forum's board of directors, which the report asserts represents the positions of Netanyahu.
"It is not unusual for experienced associations to try to bring parliamentarians closer to their interests and political positions," according to the report. "It should be noted just how much of an influence both these relatively small and unknown organizations have on the wider public."
Der Spiegel claimed that these groups organize debates, disseminate position papers, and organize trips to Israel funded by anonymous sponsors, and "organize donations to politicians."
"All this shows the strategic way in which the [organizations exert their] influence over German politics," the report said.
"In the end, the question remains: Just how independent can politicians be when they make money off their contacts?"
It should be noted that the report specifically relates to a personal and modest €1500 ($1693) donation made by two members of the Middle East Peace Forum to members of the Green Party.
The report also quotes Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office and Social Democratic Party member Niels Annen, known for his Israel criticism, as saying, "Any attempt to influence the balanced position of Germany or Europe in one of the sides' directions is problematic."
Annen, it should be noted, has not come out against the work of Arab and Iranian lobbyists, who are very active in Berlin. Nor did Der Spiegel find it necessary to investigate the work of these organizations.
A senior official from one of the defamed organizations told Israel Hayom, "It's an anti-Semitic article, aimed at creating the impression that Jews buy off German politicians. The article bolsters anti-Semitic stereotypes among its audience …. which is unable to understand just how anti-Semitic this article is. This is a focused campaign against the pro-Israel activities of Jewish organizations in Germany, a defamatory report full of false or incomplete information."
In a statement, the Middle East Peace Forum told Israel Hayom: "The claims that we represent the positions of PM Netanyahu are without basis. In fact, we have invited people who do not belong to the Netanyahu camp like [Yesh Atid party leader] Yair Lapid, [former Zionist Union and Hatnuah party leader] Tzipi Livni and [former Labor and Independence party lawmaker] Einat Wilf to events in Germany. The trips to Israel are funded in part by the lawmakers themselves, and as an organization, we have never donated funds to any politicians whatsoever."
