Update
“Germany ridiculous”
Anger over Baerbock’s UN abstention also in traffic lights
October 29, 2023, 7:09 p.m
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The anti-Israel UN resolution only has symbolic value, but Germany’s abstention continues to cause annoyance. There is also criticism within the traffic lights of the weak image that Foreign Minister Baerbock presents. The FDP and SPD say that they have made themselves ridiculous internationally.
Germany’s vague stance at the United Nations is causing people to shake heads even at traffic lights. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai called Germany’s abstention from the UN resolution on the war between Israel and the radical Palestinian organization Hamas “incomprehensible.” Djir-Sarai continued to tell the “Tagesspiegel”: “The Foreign Ministry’s vote is disappointing.”
Sharp criticism also came from the Social Democrats. Former military commissioner Reinhold Robbe told the paper that Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s abstention “is in diametrical contradiction to all other statements by the federal government.” The abstention “blatantly contradicts” the principle that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’état.
Robbe, once president of the German-Israeli Society, explained: “Instead of rejecting the unacceptable UN resolution – like other close allies of Israel – Germany is making itself internationally ridiculous. And the Jewish people in Germany feel that they are in this precarious situation Government seriously disappointed and abandoned.”
Lindner: “Wasn’t involved”
FDP leader Christian Lindner indirectly distanced himself from the German vote. He was not involved in the controversial decision. “I have not yet had the opportunity to speak to Ms. Baerbock about the considerations that led to this voting behavior,” he said that evening on the ARD program “Report from Berlin.” Without making his own judgment, Lindner added: “I only perceive that Hamas is celebrating the vote and strongly criticizing Israel.” Regardless of the decision at the UN, he wanted to “explicitly make it clear to the federal government that we are on Israel’s side,” the FDP leader continued. “We know that Israel has a right to self-defense.”
The UN General Assembly in New York called by a large majority on Friday for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. At an emergency meeting, of the 193 member states of the UN, 120 countries voted for the resolution, 14 countries voted against it and 45 countries abstained.
Röttgen: “Germany has maneuvered”
The CDU foreign expert Norbert Röttgen told the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”: “The federal government’s criticism of the application should have resulted in a no.” Instead, Germany “maneuvered” and was “ambiguous.”
The President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, had previously spoken of a “disappointment for the Jews in Germany”. With its abstention, Germany supported the UN’s “relative attitude towards Israel”.