Dr. Maximilian Krah is one of the most important figures in Germany’s liberal group, the Other für Deutschland. He addressed Asia Times in response to accusations that AfD and the present a menace to European Jews. David P. Goldman, the assistant director of Asia Times, and I spoke with him in German for a brief period of time.
Asia Times: Dr. Krah,  , the leader of the Central Council of German Jews, Josef Schuster, had this to state on November 29:” If a group like the Other für Deutschland were to have responsibility for governing Germany, one would have to beg in all seriousness whether Hebrew living in Germany  , were , also feasible. I have looked at every blog on the , AfD , site concerning Jews and the State of Israel, and without exception they defend Israel’s right to exist and reject racism in Germany. How do you discuss this gap?
Krah:  , I believe , that Schuster is just stuck in a universe that no longer exists.  , There , is no question that, generally speaking,  , antisemitism , was common on the right, while nowadays it is at home on the left. That was genuine in Germany. We see that in Hungary, also.  , The aged Hungarian appropriate was racist, but that was a long time ago.  , Today ‘s , Viktor Orban is no longer racist, and we , see the same thing , all , over the world.
This has a lot to do with Israel. In 1967, Israel faced opponents who were all armed by Moscow. The Free World’s next wish in the Middle East at the time was Israel. Intelligent liberals in , the USA and Western Europe realized that it is absolutely pointless to continue to think of Immigrants as socialists, because , they were in fact , the only ones fighting socialists, and items have been changing since then. I believe that Schuster is , an honorable gentleman, but he is also very , out of date,  , and has not yet  , grasped , that , racism has migrated , from the right to the left. He claims that we were still in the 1960s. He has veered off from right to left, and he appears to be implying that we will spend another 60 times together. That is unfortunate,  , but I didn’t alter it. Because people are aware without a doubt that what he is saying is incorrect, no one takes him seriously again.
AT: When I look at the German political environment, I note that Viktor Orban is Israel’s best companion in Europe. Orban quickly invited Netanyahu to Budapest as a host of the Hungarian position when he was charged by the International Criminal Court. Geert Wilders, the head of Holland’s Freedom Party, went so far as to identify the German right-wing events as” German Zionists. Is there any racism left over from the German right?
Krah:  , There’s always something, and I haven’t set my hand in the fire to exclude that chance. There is no hatred at all at the amount of the group leaders and the plan makers, though.  , The reality , has changed entirely, and for that reason no one holds onto this century-old , crazy..
The remaining has embraced hatred,  , for two factors. Second, Israel is then a strong supporter of the United States, and it is a business market rather than a socialist job: It is anything but communism, where everyone is supposed to live in a community. The next issue, of course, is the remaining ‘s , strong , aid for emigration. For them, the refugee is a hobby. They want to see the greatest conceivable emigration, especially from the Middle East and North Africa. These are Muslims who are very angry to Israel and, consequently, usually pretty anti-Semitic. The remaining gets tied up in the immigration issue, and refuses to address the issue of immigrant hatred. For these reasons hatred is at home on the left, while none of the leading characters on the right , has been affected.
AT: Jewish people in Europe are currently concerned about their physical health. There have been racist demonstrations, attacks on churches and attack against individual Jews. Where does all of this come from? Have , their , been any problems than can be ascribed to the appropriate wing of European politics?
Krah: There is not a single attack on Jewish institutions that comes from the right, despite the fact that all of these attacks are perpetrated by refugees or by left-wing extreme terrorist organizations affiliated with them. A lone offender wanted to attack a church in Halle. He was never a right-winger , but an isolated person who had a computer full of ridiculous ideas but , was in no way connected to the , AfD , or to , any , right-wing activity. There is not a single attack that is in any way associated with , organizations , on the political right. And , that applies , not just in Germany,  , but , across , all of Europe. We do not protect synagogues or , other , Jewish institutions from , the , political , right. We protect them , from , al-Qaeda, from Islamist violence and from left-wing extremists.
AT: Could you elaborate on the political leaders of Europe who support more Near Eastern immigrants?
Krah: As of now, we are talking about all the politicians who opened the border, for example Angela Merkel, who is a Christian Democrat, that is, from the political center. The only ones who want to close the border are  , the right. But the Greens, the Social Democrats, the Liberals] Free Democratic Party ] and the Christian Democrats all support open borders, and open borders in Europe means immigration rom Afghanistan, from Syria, from Algeria and from sub-Saharan Africa – that is, from countries that are shaped by Islam, and therefore have problems with the State of Israel and with Jews in general. Only the right wants to close the borders. All the others want to keep them open, some very wide, others a little less, but they all concur, and for this reason it is obvious that they are all to blame for the rise in anti-Semitism.  ,
AT:  , The , AfD, of course, opposes this.  ,
Krah:  , There is a , study out of , Denmark about where immigration is economically useful or harmful.  , immigration from Afghanistan and Syria , does not help either economically , or culturally. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t individual success stories among these migrants, but in the big picture it is damaging economically as well as culturally. It is particularly bad for the , sitiuation , of European Jews, who have come under increasing threat.
AT: There is , an organization of Jewish members of , the AFD. Tell us about this.
Krah:  , It ‘s , is , a small group  , of , Jews who are not left-wingers. But in Germany,  , most Jews are  , on the , left or in the , center. That’s understandable for historical reasons, there are very few German Jews left. Many , of the Jews living in Germany todays , immigrated from the former Soviet Union in the 90s.  ,
AT:  , You are a committed Christian. The” civilizational” parties of Europe who view Christianity as a pillar of the character of Europe are largely unrepentant toward Jews. Can you elaborate on the Jewish contribution to European civilization from a personal perspective?
Krah: There is , a , renowned , German-Jewish , symbiosis. That , has something to do with the fact , that both , the Germans and the Jews had the idea that social advancement was achieved through education.  , How did one become part of the middle class in Germany?  , The German’ , socialization , mechanism , was the university. Unfortunately,  , our universities no longer do this, but , classically speaking, the Germans , achieved , success , through , education and that is exactly what we have in common with the Jews. In the 19th century, the Jews had no power , and , no influence, but what they , had was a high , intelligence.  , If you look at the universities of the , German , Empire, 20 %  , of the , professors , were Jewish, although the , Jewish population was 2 % of the total.  , I believe that over 50 % of the Nobel Prizes that we received were awarded]to Jews]. That was  , our , golden age , of , German-Jewish symbiosis.  , That was  , was  , then destroyed by the Nazis and that also destroyed the Germans intellectually That is , an , undisputed , fact. If you look at the time of the founder of the empire, Bismarck, his favorite poet was Heinrich Heine.  , The Nazis tore down Heine’s monuments and , banned the recitation of his poems.
The perfection of the classical style in German music was achieved by , Felix , Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who , also , brought , Bach back into , public  , awareness.  , And, again, the Nazis ripped down the Mendelssohn monument in Leipzig. Without the Jewish contribution, there would not be a German culture. And I would add that the language of , the , European Jews, namely Yiddish, is a German dialect.
Judaism , was  , a cultural force , in Europe more , than , a , religious one. Jews like Mendelssohn-Bartholdy ,, Heinrich , Heine or , Einstein were Reform Jews who had come out of the ghettos and contributed to the social, political and , cultural life of Germany and Europe.  , No , they are  , are  , no longer there.  , So , Europe is now intellectually uninteresting.  , It lacks the curiosity, the impulse to learn that the Jews contributed.
The most crucial role was in this exchange between Europe and the Jews. I regret that Mr. Schuster , wants to defend the status quo, rather than becoming involved in the process of change that is coming to Europe.  , Schuster , enjoys , the , privileges , that he has  , been accorded , from the , Federal , Republic , of Germany. But , apart from the fact that he , is , against antisemitism, where is the intellectual input from the Central Council of Jews? There is none. Where is the intellectual curiosity, the creativity, that Jews brought to Germany? What is his future view, exactly?  , This is a pity. Because, regrettably, we are at an impasse in Germany, the political right will need to look into negotiating with Jews in Israel and the United States.