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Living Traditions APPEAL INTERVIEW A MENTSH Supplement Th Europe Meir Shalev Johannes Beermann uringia – GROW UP STORIES OF LOVE DISCREET Lasting Visions OLD CONTINENT AND IMAGINATION HUMANISM PAGE 2 PAGE 3 PAGE 23 vecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ps://crea 3.0 h on-ShareAlike JEWISH VOICE FROM GERMANY ribu PRICE € 3 | $ 4 VOL. 20 | JULY 2017 ce / Wikimedia A ffi POPULISM BUILD HOUSES AND DWELL IN THEM ,Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud’s O ,Mohammed Bin Salman al-Saud’s Still Standing By mmanuel Macron is a ropean democracies. But even stroke of good fortune for with Emmanuel Macron’s vic- E Europe. The young poli- tory, we should not forget that tician appears to have rescued Marine Le Pen received 11 mil- vecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en his home country and western lion votes in the second round ps://crea democracies from a plunge into of the presidential election. And the abyss. we should not forget that even In the runoff vote for the though the party of the newly ung Wikimedia h French presidency, Macron elected president swept the took on Marine Le Pen, head fi rst round of the parliamentary of the National elections, it did Konrad-Adenauer-S Front. The can- so with the sup- didates of the es- port of only 15 tablished political percent of reg- parties had been istered voters. eliminated during Low voter More than half the fi rst round of “ of French vot- voting. The can- turnout is an ers abstained didate for the rul- from round one ing Socialists was alarm bell for of the legisla- not even able to tive elections. convince every the future of Among voters vecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, JVG, Frank Rumpenhorst, JVG, JVG, Rumpenhorst, Frank vecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, JVG, tenth voter. By democracy under 35 years ps://crea Bauhaus, the art of aesthetic harmony, launched its global success in Weimar almost extension, if Ma- of age, about 66 cron had not had percent did not a century ago. To this day, Bauhaus dominates Tel Aviv’s urban landscape through the courage to re- go to the polls. its German-Jewish emigrants. The White City is a UNESCO World Heritage site. on 2.0 Generic h sign from his post as econom- This is an alarm bell for the fu- ribu ics minister and launch his own ture of democracy in France – “En marche” political move- and in Europe. ment, the far-right populist Le France is no isolated case. QATAR CONFLICT Pen would have been well-po- Last spring, the former head of Patience no more sitioned to win the presidential the Austrian Green Party, Alex- Europe’s Renaissance vote. Coming from the country ander Van der Bellen, eked out The proclamationon of the revolution, this would a win in the presidential runoff of Mohammed binn have been a dire omen for Eu- election. The candidates of the Salman (MBS) as Dear Readers, established mass parties – the Crown Prince of Social Democrats and the con- Saudi Arabia is a For this issue, we had a no claim to possessing a sim- ` ECONOMY servative People’s Party – had sign of stability lengthy conversation with ple solution to the complex already failed to advance in the and determination Israeli writer Meir Shalev. Israel-Palestine confl ict. fi rst round of the vote. Mean- in the Gulf region. The themes of love and The focus of this issue is while the People’s Party has es- The isolation of Qatar by Egypt, imagination are at the center Europe. In these days after sentially capitulated and hand- Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Emir- of his work. Shalev, a modest the death of Helmut Kohl, / Flickr 4785998199_ee1510c1ac_o A Dalbéra vecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, Jean-Pierre Allez la France ed over the keys to 30-year-old ates is a strategic decision in fa- man with a very the people and Foreign Minister Sebastian vor of political moderation and keen judgment, governments of ps://crea Reforms urgently needed Kurz, who is now running the against aggression and terror. is also deeply en- Europe would do PAGE 6 70-year-old party like his own Qatar has long engaged in a policy gaged with the well to recall the fi efdom, hoping to take advan- of appeasement toward Iran and political situa- values exempli- ` tage of his new popularity to its allied terror organizations He- tion in his home fi ed by this great RESOURCES 2.0) h on 2.0 Generic (CC BY form a coalition with the right- zbollah and Hamas. Now Crown country. But he statesman. Kohl ribu wing Freedom Party after a Prince and Defense Minister MBS does not claim and his European snap election. has lost patience. ÌPAGE 2 any superior partners, among These worries are by no means knowledge re- them President limited to Europe. Last Novem- JUDAISM garding the con- François Mitter- ber, the populist Donald Trump fl ict with Israel’s rand, knew that Sustainability won the presidential election in Thou shalt work Arab neighbors. a unifi ed Europe Recycling and upcycling God’s Own Country. Since Janu- Instead he ap- Helmut Kohl would bring ary, Trump has been governing Judaism places a high value on proaches the peace and pros- PAGE 19 according to his own whims. work. In the Jewish ethic, work problem with thoughtful in- perity. This is something ` EXHIBITION In Germany, the tradition- is an integral aspect of social tegrity and life experience, that today’s opportunists al mass parties have enjoyed justice, tzedakah. Charity and and with the aim of achiev- appear to have forgotten. But a long-unchallenged hold on care for the poor are a central ing a humane solution for France’s young president is power. But over the longer command to help them become all sides. This is what makes reviving the idea of Europe. term, Germany will also fi nd self-suffi cient. The very idea of him such a great artist. The French and other Euro- itself facing an uphill battle an unconditional basic income For our Thuringia supple- peans would be well advised against the rise of global popu- contradicts the Jewish tradi- ment, we interviewed Prime to embrace this renaissance Berlin 1937 lism. Here, too, the siren song tion. The Talmud says: “A man Minister Bodo Ramelow. A whole-heartedly. Shadow of things to come of the far-right is lying in wait. who lives from the labor of his man with long years of politi- PAGE 20 Europe needs the élan of Em- hands is greater than the one cal experience, he also makes Jewish Voice Stadtmuseum Berlin / Oliver Ziebe, Coca-Cola Deutschland, Gerard van der Schaaf / Flickr 8661171028_d52e591301_o A der Schaaf van Deutschland, Gerard Ziebe, Coca-Cola Berlin / Oliver Stadtmuseum manuel Macron. ■ who fears heaven.” ÌPAGE 24 2 | OPINION JEWISH VOICE FROM GERMANY | JULY 2017 EUROPE Grow Up, Old Continent vecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ By Elisabeth Neu ps://crea to the brink of destruction ermany and Europe have and Germany past the point of come to the conclusion moral collapse. In the wake of G that they need to take this devastation, the countries their fate into their own hands. of Western Europe chose to re- 2.0) h on 2.0 Generic (CC BY And indeed, they should seize linquish a signifi cant portion of ribu the opportunity. Donald Trump’s their independence. “America fi rst” policy has forced Like Romulus and the nations of the Old Continent Remus, they found a to grow up and stand in defense safe harbor and suc- of their own interests – which, cor under the teats of of course, vary among the 28 EU America. American states. This means we must ne- money was crucial gotiate common positions within to the reconstruc- the EU community, lest the Eu- tion of the Euro- ropean Union disintegrate and pean economy. The its member states decline into shield of US military / Flickr 4785998199_ee1510c1ac_o A Dalbéra Jean-Pierre obscurity. As the EU’s largest ex- power, including the porting country, this would be presence of millions of GIs such that each NATO member spend in turn has helped spur mass the fact that this tendency is particularly painful for Germany. as Elvis Presley, helped secure at least 2 percent of their GDP migration of people to the EU, gaining root here as well. And the freedom and independence on defense is a reasonable one. who often struggle to integrate not just in Hungary and Poland, International solidarity of Western Europe. More than seven decades after and assimilate here. but also in France, Austria, Brit- After just a brief tenure in of- the end of the Second World For highly developed econo- ain, and the Netherlands. There After meeting with President fi ce, President Trump has al- War, it is unreasonable to ex- mies such as the US and the EU is no easy solution to this mood Trump at the G7 summit of ready decided to withdraw the pect that the United States con- states – and Germany in particu- and policy of chauvinism. But leading industrial nations and United States from the Paris tinue to bear the larger share of lar – free trade is a matter of vi- Donald Trump, Hungary’s Vik- at the NATO summit, German Climate Agreement. This is a the burden of ensuring Europe’s tal concern. Donald Trump has tor Orbán, Poland’s Jarosław Chancellor Angela Merkel com- catastrophe of unforeseeable di- security.