Status: 01.01.2022 8:01 a.m.
The Middle East conflict keeps showing diplomats the limits of their possibilities. The EU representative in the Palestinian Territories therefore relies on unusual means – image-rich appearances and clear words.
About a year ago Sven Kühn von Burgsdorff visited a hill south of Jerusalem. The EU ambassador to the Palestinians wanted to talk to the media in Givat Hamatos and wanted to explain why the construction of an Israeli settlement here would be particularly fatal for a possible Palestinian state. But the diplomat was barely understood.
A group of right-wing Israelis came to shout the EU representative. From the perspective of the activists, the hill belongs to Israel. But international law says: This is territory occupied by Israel. This is also the position of the EU. And that’s why von Burgsdorff came to this place.
The job in the Palestinian Territories, says the north German, who has worked for the EU for 30 years, is “probably his most difficult post – because it is the politically most complex one”.
A muddled situation and the historical burden
Israel and the Palestinian Territories: This is one of the most sensitive regions in the world for diplomats. Because the conflicting parties are so irreconcilable towards each other. Because it is easy to get accused of leaning on one side. And then there is the gravity of the story, there is the atrocities of Nazi Germany, the responsibility for the victims of the Holocaust and their descendants.
There are reasons for diplomatic reluctance, says von Burgsdorff. The German EU diplomat has already been insulted by right-wing Israelis as an anti-Semite. Which he decidedly rejects.
Rely on the effect of direct encounters. EU representative from Burgsdorff
Image: dpa
Not just diplomatic formulations
Although the environment for the diplomat is so sensitive, he relies on clear words. Some say: more clearly than is the case with many other diplomats in the region. He often speaks of the injustice that is caused by the Israeli occupation. The man from Germany is “impressive”, says a high-ranking representative of the Palestinians.
The EU ambassador recently visited a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem who is threatened with eviction by Israel. Photos show von Burgsdorff holding the hand of an elderly woman. “He cares” – that is the message to the Palestinians.
The diplomat from Germany relies on the power of images. Already jumping out of a plane with a parachute and a Palestinian flag, he said the Palestinians should not give up their dream of a free and independent state.
Lightly dressed in the kayak
Von Burgsdorff, one could say that, likes to show himself in front of cameras. He’s also been kayaking bare-chested off the coast of the Gaza Strip. He says he wanted to show that this largely isolated place also has beautiful sides. This is called “Public Diplomacy” in English.
The diplomat wants to influence public opinion on the Internet – apart from politics and traditional diplomacy. At a time when the governments in the USA and the EU countries no longer give the Middle East conflict a high priority.
The limited possibilities of the EU
And of course von Burgsdorff knows that the EU – i.e. his employer – often reaches its limits when it comes to the Middle East: According to an EU regulation, products from Israeli settlements must be labeled accordingly. Many EU countries have not yet implemented this.
In recent years in particular, the EU countries have rarely spoken with one voice. When the EU foreign ministers published a joint declaration on the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in May, Hungary refused to give its consent. The Hungarian government headed by Viktor Orbán is a close ally of Israel and accused the EU of “one-sidedness” in favor of the Palestinians.
Many see it differently. Talking about tensions within the EU is actually a bit tricky for von Burgsdorff diplomatically. At the same time, he referred to principles that apply to all Member States.
International law is the absolute guide for the EU. There is probably no legal framework that is as important to the EU as international law. Ultimately, we came about because we didn’t want a war anymore. The EU project is a peace project. We are all the more obliged to adhere to it. ”
Too much on one side?
Von Burgsdorff rejects the accusation of being too pro-Palestinian. He also criticizes the Palestinian side. For example, because there have been no national elections there for 15 years. Or because the freedoms for civil society are sometimes draconically restricted.
Criticizing Israel has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. As a friend of Israel in particular, he wanted to express himself clearly. Von Burgsdorff wants what almost everyone wants: that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.
Accept your own limits
With his enthusiasm, the diplomat sometimes seems as if this goal is within reach. But of course it is not. And of course representatives from abroad cannot solve the decades-old conflict on their own.
“That’s probably the biggest challenge for me. That I have to accept that in the three or four years I’ve been here, at best, I can contribute a very small part.”
In one and a half years, von Burgsdorff will leave Jerusalem for retirement. In no case does he want to become cynical, he says – in a region where many have already lost faith in better times: “I am sure that the conflict will be resolved. At some point. The only question is: How quickly will it work? And how non-violent is it? “
A clear edge on difficult terrain: a German EU ambassador in Jerusalem
Benjamin Hammer, ARD Tel Aviv, December 29th, 2021 9:05 pm