An erosion of the post-war consensus on antisemitism in the Federal Republic of Germany is well underway, and Der Spiegel, the leading weekly German news magazine, is not helping.
Since antisemitism is symptomatic of a greater societal malaise, it should be made clear that antisemitism is not a "Jewish" problem, but a hatred that eats away at the foundations of our society. In this fight, nothing less than the future of an open, liberal, Europe is at stake.
These are hard times for those who reject the polarization of public discourse. Not only in the U.S.A., but also in Germany, there is practically no room left for nuance and differentiation.
The latest European Union report on antisemitism begins with a stark warning. “These findings make for grim reading,” writes Michael O’Flaherty, director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), in the foreword.
Mike Pompeo will become the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) when he arrives in the Pacific Island nation on Monday. His meeting with the leaders of FSM, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau will be a significant signal to both friends and adversaries in the Pacific that U.S. commitment to these partners is strong and growing deeper.