D (42:38)
One thing that most people maybe don't realize is that Germany is the second biggest provider of weapons to Israel after the U.S. the U.S. is number one to be sure, under Biden or Trump, but Germany second. And that accelerated after October 7th. So you're right that there is this sense within Germany which didn't exist straight after World War II, but certainly in the last 30, 40 years, that we as a German people need to commemorate and atone essentially for the crimes of our ancestors. And I on paper, have no problem with that. I mean, Germany committed one of the ultimate crimes, the genocide, of course, of Jews and millions and millions of others, of course. But the way that manifests itself today, and this was beginning long before October 7th, but it's accelerated since, is this belief amongst the vast bulk of the German political elite and media elite, and a sizable proportion of the German public, both in the east, former East Germany and the west, that they have a historical responsibility to support Israel no matter what. Now, this was a view, as I said, long before October 7th, but it's got stronger since. And what that means practically believing that, for example, pro Palestine protests have to be crushed hugely violently. People who say, from the river to the sea, Palestine should be free are literally charged and brought before court. If an individual tries to make a comparison between the Nazi Holocaust and what Israel is doing in Gaza, you are apparently disparaging the so called original holocaust and therefore you might be charged. There have been huge amounts of Palestinians who have been deported and Arabs for that matter, who have not been violent, who are not terrorists, who are simply expressing a critical view of Israel. And the impact of that practically on arguably the most powerful country in Europe, the most powerful economy, which has been for years, although it's in a bit of a bad shape these days economically, is to actually empower the far right. The AfD, which is now the largest opposition party in the country. And you have someone in the film, Iris Hefitz, who's a Jewish Israeli born German citizen, who basically says, I'm paraphrasing what she says, that Israel has become the washing machine for the far right. And what that means is, which is happening in the us, across Europe as well, it's not unique to Germany, but it's happening is that when someone in the far right says I love Israel or I love Jews, you can't accuse me of anti Semitism. I love the world's only Jewish state. And the AfD in Germany is doing that very successfully and whitewashing their own record, which historically has been often tied to neo Nazism. And today they are supported according to the polls by around 25% of the German population. Now they're not in government. Yes, but potentially in years to come they will be. And I guess part of the reason to make this film, I made it with the British filmmaker Dan Davies, who I also made The Palestine laboratory with Al Jazeera earlier this year was in some ways, most people I spoke to about this question had no idea of what was happening in Germany. We're very well aware of the massive repression, particularly since Trump has returned to the White House, of crushing pro Palestine speech, trying to deport people. Mahmoud Khalil amongst many, many others. But what's happening in Germany, the heart of Europe, is actually remarkably similar. It's remarkably similar. Different, but similar. And I am born in Australia, but I'm a German citizen, so I wouldn't say I feel particularly German per se, but I at the same time feel the reason I got a passport 15 or so years ago was for those who aren't aware, after the war, World War II, Germany allowed Jews whose citizenship was removed because the Nazis didn't recognize Jews as citizens could have it reinstated, essentially. And many, many Jews for about half a century, mostly refused to do that, including my, my parents basically saying, why would I want to be a German citizen after what Germany did to us? Which I understood. But in the last 20, 25 years, many Jews around the world have changed their opinion and have now because they want to have an EU passport for whatever reason, may be, but the idea somehow that Germany says they are doing this in the name of me as a Jew, to support Israel and critically, apparently makes Germany a good global citizen, despite the fact, as you said, that they are now backing arming a genocide, an Israeli state that is proudly, I would argue, genocidal. So the film, I suppose, tries to uncover that, investigate that. And it came out about two weeks ago. It just had an amazing global response, I think, because most people just don't know what is happening in a country which is in the center of Europe with huge amounts of influence. And what's happening in Germany is happening elsewhere, US growing parts of Europe, France, England. I mean, we finish on this point, we talk about at the end of the film that what's happening in Germany is mirrored elsewhere. But just this year, the UK has prescribed as a terrorist organization a group called Palestine Action, which is a non violent group trying to stop Israel's genocide, but also the complicity of Israeli arms companies in the Israeli occupation. The idea that that is a terrorist organization is absurd. And yet Keir Starmer's government has prescribed that as a terrorist organization, meaning that if you are in London, for example, or Birmingham, wherever you may be, and you hold a sign and you say, I support Palestine Action, you will be arrested and charged. And so this obsessive desire in so many Western Countries to protect Israel at the expense of their own country's democracy should really disturb us all a lot.
