When the German parliament labeled the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement as anti-Semitic, it garnered the praise of Jewish organizations worldwide.
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But despite the importance of the move, which influenced more European countries to adopt similar decisions, what remained hidden was the fact that the resolution had no legal and practical validity. It was merely a recommendation.
Besides the fact that many left-wing parties in the Bundestag voted against the decision, the initiative's very purpose was to block a more radical right-wing proposal that demanded a complete ban on BDS activities in Germany.
The vote drew immediate public criticism from BDS supporters, including Israelis, Jews, journalists, and the former Israeli ambassador himself. They claimed the decision was a violation of the principle of freedom of expression. It was also alleged that Israel forced the German government to silence the critics of government policy in Jerusalem, an argument that is anti-Semitic at its very core.
A week later, the Bundestag's Research and Documentation Services issued an opinion that the parliament's decision is legally invalid.
And that is how German authorities pulled off an ingenious move: on the one hand, they presented themselves as pioneers in the fight against anti-Semitism and the de-legitimization of Israel; on the other hand, their decision is void of any practical capability to fight the anti-Semitic boycott movement.
This is how good-old Germany has always operated: its official policy states that the existence and security of Israel is part of the nation's national interest; at the same time, it supports anti-Israel organizations with known ties to terrorists and consistently votes against Israel at the United Nations.
As a result of the indirect approval of the Research and Documentation Services, anti-Semitism in Germany has become part of the freedom of speech.
If Israel had a Foreign Ministry that truly had Israel's best interests at heart, it would have long exposed this German hypocrisy. Sadly, that is not the case. Israel officially continues to claim that the two countries share a wonderful friendship.
Europe sees that the Foreign Ministry is allowing Germany to make a fool of Israel, and it draws its own conclusions: what Germany can do to Israel in the name of "drawing lessons from history," so can they.
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