Habermas on the Hamas massacre, Israel’s response, and anti-Semitic sentiments [Updated]

Nicole Deitelhoff, Rainer Forst, Klaus Günther & Jürgen Habermas on the Hamas massacre, Israel’s response and anti-Semitic sentiments: 

"Principles of solidarity. A statement" (13-11-2023)

"The current situation created by Hamas‘ extreme atrocity and Israel’s response to it has led to a cascade of moral and political statements and protests. We believe that amidst all the conflicting views being expressed, there are some principles that should not be disputed. They are the basis of a rightly understood solidarity with Israel and Jews in Germany.

The Hamas massacre with the declared intention of eliminating Jewish life in general has prompted Israel to strike back. How this retaliation, which is justified in principle, is carried out is the subject of controversial debate; principles of proportionality, the prevention of civilian casualties and the waging of a war with the prospect of future peace must be the guiding principles. Despite all the concern for the fate of the Palestinian population, however, the standards of judgement slip completely when genocidal intentions are attributed to Israel’s actions.

In particular, Israel’s actions in no way justify anti-Semitic reactions, especially not in Germany. It is intolerable that Jews in Germany are once again exposed to threats to life and limb and have to fear physical violence on the streets. The democratic ethos of the Federal Republic of Germany, which is orientated towards the obligation to respect human dignity, is linked to a political culture for which Jewish life and Israel’s right to exist are central elements worthy of special protection in light of the mass crimes of the Nazi era. The commitment to this is fundamental to our political life. The elementary rights to freedom and physical integrity as well as to protection from racist defamation are indivisible and apply equally to all. All those in our country who have cultivated anti-Semitic sentiments and convictions behind all kinds of pretexts and now see a welcome opportunity to express them uninhibitedly must also abide by this."

Update:

See also Nicole Deitelhoff's comments on X/Twitter.

+ podcast from “Parallax Views” with A. Dirk Moses (City University of New York) on the Gaza War – with his comments on the statement by Nicole Deiteldorf et al. (32:35 - 38:36)

+ Adam Tooze, Samuel Moyn, Amia Srinivasan, Nancy Fraser et al. - "The principle of human dignity must apply to all people" (The Guardian, online 22-11-2023). Among the signatories are also Dirk Moses, Peter Verovšek, Robin Celikates, Frederick Neuhouser, Jay Bernstein, and Katrin Flikschuh.

+ Rainer Forst - "Beyond Black and White", A statement published in an article by Michael Hesse in "Frankfurter Rundschau": "Die Suche nach einem "vernünftigen Diskurs"" (25-11-2023).

Responses & reports in the press:

* Süddeutsche Zeitung (Jens-Christian Rabe), 15-11-2023 

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Christian Geyer), online 15-11-2023 

* Frankfurter Rundschau (Michael Hesse), online 15-11-2023 

* Die Zeit, online 14-11-2023.

* Der Spiegel, online 14-11-2023.

* Berliner Zeitung (Timo Feldhaus), online 14-11-2023 

* Die Welt, online 14-11-2023.

* Tagesspiegel (Gerrit Bartels), 14-11-2023.

* La Repubblica (Tonia Mastrobuoni), 15-11-2023.

* Il Manifesto (Roberto De Monticelli), online 19-11-2023,

* The Guardian (Philip Oltermann), online 22-11-2023,

* Spiegel Online (Tobias Rapp), online 23-11-2023.

* Tagesspiegel (Gerrit Bartels), 24-11-2023.

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Miguel de la Riva), 25-11-2023.

* Frankfurter Rundschau (Michael Hesse), 25-11-2023.

* Berliner Zeitung (Paolo Becchi), online 26-11-2023

* Die Welt (Andreas Rosenfelder), 27-11-2023.

* Nordwest-Zeitung (Stefan Müller-Doohm), 27-11-2023

* Der Standard (Ronald Pohl), 28-11-2023.

* Der Spiegel Online (Hedwig Richter), 28-11-2023.

* Der Spiegel (Omri Boehm), 02-12-2023.

* Boston Review (Peter E. Gordon), 04-12-2023.

* Thomas Schmid (Blog), 08-12-2023.

* New Lines Magazine (Asef Bayat), online 08-12-2023.

* Die Presse (Gerald Matt), 09-12-2023

* Frankfurter Rundschau (Seyla Benhabib), 18-12-2023

* Al-Estiklal (NN), online 21-12-2023

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Rudolf Steinberg), 28-12-2023.

* Al-Ahram Weekly (Alieddien Hilal), 11-01-2024.

* Modern East Eye (Hamid Dabashi), online 18-01-2024 (Warning: Outrageous!).