In February this year, Gerd Buurmann, the artistic director of the Cologne Severin-Burgtheater, against Walter Herrmann, the owner of the shadow of Cologne Cathedral's 'Wailing Wall' complaint asked for sedition. Anti-Semitism was "always an emergency," explained Buurmann then his decision to call the police when he discovered in Herrmann's 20 square meters large, anti-israel permanent exhibition a particularly disgusting anti-Semitic caricature (photo above) . The step of interregional Theater director found some media attention, especially the local Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger took the Cause of a number of coverage and commentary , but also found in the world and in the Jerusalem Post they received. Buurmann even played with the Cologne Council fractions in touch - and got a mostly positive response to the ad, as he has on his blog bravest of nowhere executed in several papers. Earlier, the Cologne, including their political representatives, Mr Mann's work - than those "anti-Semitic anti-Zionist installation, with the Israel blood-sucking and murderous monster is demonized " (Henryk M. Broder) - for years either ignored, tolerated or even welcomed. Thanks Buurmann initiative seemed to turn the tide slowly, so Herrmann anti-Israel exhibits a precaution ever degraded - not without announcing, again in June to try to go with them to the start - and the small remaining after all a little off-placed of the cathedral.
But the Cologne public prosecutor suggested already early on, dismissed the complaint, and now she has set out Gerd Buurmann the reasons in writing. But before you go to this argument are a few fragmentary remarks on the history and present of Clause 130 of the Criminal Code , of "sedition" punishable by law, may be quite helpful. There was a regulation under the same number already in the Empire and the Weimar Republic, was with her, especially the "incitement to class war" prosecuted - it is explicitly directed against the political left. In the Federal Republic of § 130 of the Penal Code was finally amended some 50 years ago, the then adopted version is still largely valid today. Immediate reason for this amendment was a series of anti-Semitic crimes - arson attacks on synagogues, injury and Nazi glorification included - in the years before. In the new wording of clause originally proposed, however, the term "incitement to racial hatred" and dropped by the much more general term "attack on human dignity of others" respectively. In October 1994, was added as an explicit denial of the Holocaust a criminal offense, before it was legal to take only as an insult. Five years ago, finally found the approval, denial and trivialization of Nazism their input in the determination.
can about the Need for this provision worthy of debate, for example, liberal Americans who consider it simply as superfluous and harmful to criminalize political in spirit - as well as may always look it - and think it's ultimately a dictum that is commonly Voltaire ascribed ". I do not share your opinion, but I will fight until my last breath that you can express your opinion freely," There is best reasons for the view that the responsible citizen requires for granted - and thus a significant difference to the German approach disclosed, according to government intervention in the right to freedom of speech necessarily required. It should be a consequence of National Socialism, is given as a reason, because I also therefore be able to enforce so easily, because the law did not come in time was given by legal means. Thus, a social issue is in fact delegated to the jurisprudence, not to say deported. This should keep the mob at bay a bit, stop him when he is far too much to himself. Maybe it's somewhere but also a realistic view of things, that the German majority state fetishists and so through official taboos - are civilize - including a sanction for violations.
Just as
: The Cologne prosecutor might see in the cartoon criticized by Buurmann no sedition. In its explanatory there are several lines of argument: first The picture is not anti-Semitic, but merely express a sharp criticism of the "Israeli military policy and its support by the U.S. government" from. 2. It is therefore not to grab all the Jews, but only other states respectively, their relatives, who would not, however, protected by § 130 of the Criminal Code. 3. The public peace in the Federal Republic was not the caricature - as is required for a conviction for sedition would be - in danger, because the poster does not contribute to "the mood of large sections of the population to deteriorate towards Jewish citizens". are remarkable about this argument in particular the comments on the question of how the image anti-Jewish stereotypes served: The prosecution concedes initially, there could be 'memories of the anti-Jewish blood libel of medieval and hateful image representations of Jews [...] from the time of National Socialism awaken "- but then to make a U-turn:" Typical of anti-Jewish image displays at all times is the use of specific anatomical stereotypes that should characterize the Jews in general. In particular are exaggerated facial features to the Jews than to make ugly, unsightly and racially appear inferior (Jewish, crooked nose ', etc.) of such imagery is not served in this case "
In other words. Without hook nose no anti-Semitism - as easy Although this is the prosecutor suspects well what the (Palestinian) artist and has driven it and Walter Herrmann. But this idea he rejects once again to finally make a expression of Jew-hatred to the central criterion, whose failure to perform automatically in a fully comprehensive Acquittal leads. The illustrated on the bib of the torso David Stern (the "first and foremost the symbol of the Jewish people," as Emmanuel Nahshon, the ambassador of Israel in Germany, in Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger wrote ), which filled with blood, glass, the carving up of the child with the goal of eating it - all this is for the Cologne public prosecutor's not an expression of unfathomable hatred for Jews, but symbolizes rather "the weakness and helplessness of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip," the "with" backup ", approved etc. of Americans of Israel cruelly mangled, ' be. It also saw the "reasonable average citizen," says the prosecution - and thus has no doubt right. For the "criticism of Israel" (read: anti-Zionism) as a contemporary form of anti-Semitism has long since entered the mainstream. And nothing could show better than average understanding the opinion of a prosecutor, for the incitement against Jews, where at best it is a brush if you hate the objects a giant teeth in the face. So much for "the past".
were to remain still the matter of the "public peace". The would be broken, was the prosecution in the cathedral city, "when a general unrest among the population within the Federal Republic, but at least occurs under a considerable number of persons or a risk is". The hypothesis, "the poster campaign that a notorious, in other respects to fanaticism prone, world a better place 'can trust the Jews undermine the legal security" or "the psychological climate in the public to Jewish citizens lasting effect," but that there is "no evidence ". Gladly would know at what point such "evidence" would be given as: If the Jewish communities of their Members would recommend to pack your bags and emigrate? Or if there would be boycotts and pogroms? The fact that this country last year, the largest anti-Semitic parades since the Second World War took place seems, at least not satisfy. Not the fact that the German organs of repression in Duisburg, Mainz and Dusseldorf and in Bochum, in Berlin and Kassel precedence over each case with all the authorities against the showing of Israel flag, because - to put it in the terminology of to formulate Cologne prosecutor - prone to fanaticism gooders (that "Israel critic") felt in its air permanently impaired mental (or, Schockschwerenot affected could feel ).
That is: While in Germany calls for solidarity with Israel and over again once the police on the scene, or even of justice is punishable by a fine, even have unequivocally anti-Semitic attacks on Jews in general and the Jewish state in particular free development opportunities, if they spend just as "legitimate criticism of Israel." They must be taking lessons from history.
Photo: © Gerd Buurmann
