Educational scientist Auernheimer: The Israel lobby is not a mysterious force, but a concrete geopolitical reality
Educational scientist and political publisher Professor Georg Auernheimer, on the axis of his new work, “Two Types of Anti-Semitism,” evaluated the political background and conceptual transformation of anti-Semitism discussions in Germany. Auernheimer emphasized that current definitions of anti-Semitism have been instrumentalized to criminalize legitimate criticism of the Israeli government's policies, and noted that this situation harms universal human rights principles.
Educational scientist and political publisher Professor Georg Auernheimer made statements about his new book titled “Two Types of Anti-Semitism: State Mind Against Universal Human Rights”, which was published by Papirossa Publishing House as a guest of Nadim on the 99 ZU EINS platform.
Professor Auernheimer, who has taught educational sciences at the universities of Marburg and Cologne for many years, stated that the confusion over the concept of anti-Semitism today is not accidental, but rather based on deep political motivations.
“The definition of Israeli-oriented anti-Semitism is not an academic conflict, but a political tool”
Professor Auernheimer noted that the _expression_ "two kinds" in the title of his book points to two separate understandings that compete with each other in current public debates.
In addition to the traditional definition of anti-Semitism, Auernheimer, which focuses on the concept of "Israel-oriented anti-Semitism", which is becoming dominant in the media and politics today, stated that this new definition makes all kinds of opposition to the State of Israel suspicious of anti-Semitism.
Reminding that this process began in 2005 with the definition of the study formulated by the European Monitoring Center for Racism and Xenophobia, Auernheimer shared the assessment, "This definition is a tool used to determine who will be convicted of anti-Semitism and the links established with Israel are the focus."
Stating that the process was institutionalized with the adoption of the said definitions by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016, Professor Auernheimer drew attention to the uncertainty of these criteria and the risks it carries in legal terms.
"As lawyers and criminal law experts such as Kai Ambos point out, these criteria are extremely vaguely formulated," Auernheimer said.
Noting that this ambiguity opened the door to blaming even a pacifist who compared the war in Gaza with the actions in the Nazi era, Auernheimer criticized this situation with the following words:
“It is a complete scandal that people are targeted, crimized and endangered by these so-called definitions of work.”
“The accusation of Jewish organizations of anti-Semitism creates a grotesque picture”
Professor Auernheimer described the accusation of even Jewish individuals and institutions criticizing the Israeli government's policies as "absurd" and "grotesque".
Citing the example of the evaluation of organizations such as the Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East by the German constitution protection organization in this context, Auernheimer said, "The accusation of Jews themselves with anti-Semitism proves how manipulative this concept has become."
Professor Auernheimer, who also examined the psychosocial theories about the origins of anti-Semitism, detailed the "scapegoat", "relative deprivation" and "reflection" mechanisms offered by social psychology.
He stated that in the historical process, Jews were held responsible for economic crises and epidemics, and in today's modern society, this situation is shaped by "social envy".
Referring to the work of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer on authoritarian personality, Auernheimer emphasized that anti-Semitism is not only a logical necessity, but a historical continuity.
“Anti-Semitism is a phenomenon unique to Europe and invented there”
Professor Auernheimer made an important distinction regarding the historical development of anti-Semitism during the interview. Explaining the difference between religiously based "Anti-Semitism" in the Middle Ages and modern, racial and competition-based "Anti-Semitism", Auernheimer shared the information that "Anti-Semitism is an invention unique to Europe; such a phenomenon was not encountered in Arab countries or in the Ottoman Empire".
At this point, referring to the testimonies of the Jewish historian of Arab origin Avi Shlaim, Auernheimer noted that Jews in the Middle East did not encounter such exclusion, but the competition between Christianity and Judaism in Europe fed this hostility.
Stating that the structural features of European feudalism left the Jews in need of the protection of the monarchs and that the "protection money" received in return made the Jews a target, Auernheimer stated that with the arrival of Jewish emancipation and legal equality in the 19th century, Jews began to be seen as "competitors".
He stated that this competitive environment fueled anti-Semitic trends and reached its peak with conspiracy theories such as the Protocols of the Sages of Zion.
"For Germany, the relationship established with Israel is an atonement strategy"
Professor Auernheimer, who explained the special relationship established by the Federal Republic of Germany with the State of Israel after the Second World War with the concept of "stigma management", reminded that the foundation of this relationship was laid with the agreement between Konrad Adenauer and David Ben-Gurion.
Stating that the 1952 Luxembourg Agreement served as a "cleansing" tool for Germany, Auernheimer said, "Germany tried to get rid of the murder stamp by paying compensation to the State of Israel, which it considers the representative of the victims."
Touching on the contradictions of this process in domestic politics, Auernheimer noted that on the one hand, the state apparatus is full of elites from the Nazi era, and on the other hand, a climate in which Israel is glorified has been created.
Reminding the demands of politicians such as Franz Josef Strauss to draw a line with the past, that is, a "termination mentality", the Professor stated that even when Adenauer made a compensation agreement, the majority of the German people were unaware of Nazi crimes and made an effort to social exonerashment.
“The rebirth of the Jewish people was perceived as a salvation for the German elites”
Professor Auernheimer described the reaction of German society and ruling classes to the survival of the post-Holocaust Jewish people as a psychological relief. Reading a chapter of his book, Auernheimer said, “The resurrection of the Jewish people seemed like a virtue and salvation for the German elite, because it meant that they were not completely destroyed and alleviated a great burden of conscience.”
In this context, Auernheimer stated that the Palestinian resistance was met with great anger and hatred for disrupting this "relief" of the Germans, and argued that Palestinians were labeled as "main anti-Semites" for this reason.
Recalling the euphoria during the Oslo Accords in the 1990s and Martin Walser's famous Frankfurt speech, Professor Auernheimer stated that Walser's characterization of the Holocaust memory as a "moral stick" was met with applause among the elite of that period.
He noted that this situation reflects Germany's desire to completely get rid of the burden of the past and to protect the status quo in the Middle East.
“The Israel lobby is not a mysterious force, but a concrete geopolitical reality”
Professor Auernheimer also took a clear stance in the discussions about the "Israeli lobby" impact on Western politics. Emphasizing that this effect should not be confused with anti-Semitic stereotypes such as the "Jewish world conspiracy", Auernheimer stated that the power of the lobby is based on geopolitical interests, referring to the work of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt.
“The success of this lobby is about the United States seeing Israel as a bridgehead in the Middle East; it's not a mysterious thing, it's a concrete political situation that can be studied,” Auernheimer said.
Adding that this support may be shaken if the policies carried out by the Israeli government erode the legitimacy of the Western world, Auernheimer stated that the power of the lobby depends on historical and political conditions.
“Defending the universality of human rights is the only way to fight anti-Semitism”
At the end of the interview, Professor Auernheimer shared his views on how the fight against anti-Semitism should be carried out, and emphasized that the repressive decisions adopted by the Federal Assembly and criminal sanctions such as suspension from school are completely counterproductive.
"The correct answer is to teach and defend universal human rights," said Auernheimer, stating that these principles should also include the rights of Palestinians.
Criticizing the invisibility of Palestinian victims in the media, the Professor reminded the exhibition of portraits of October 7 victims in Berlin and said:
“The Jewish victims have one face, but the thousands of Palestinians who were massacred in Gaza and the West Bank have no face; they are not presented as individuals. This situation damages the universality of human rights.”
Finally, Auernheimer stated that the real threat from right-wing politics is Islam hostility rather than anti-Semitism, and that far-right groups see Israel, which is militarily powerful, as an "idol" and adopt it as a model against Muslims.
Professor Auernheimer concluded his interview by saying, "Today, Muslims have become a much bigger target for rightists than Jews, and empirical studies confirm that Islamophobia is much more common in the right-wing world than anti-Semitism."