Compared to his essay that Jürgen Habermas wrote at the beginning of the year on the war in Ukraine and German arms deliveries, his statement on the war in the Middle East and Israel’s reaction to the Hamas terror of October 7th is extremely short.
But the three paragraphs that the 94-year-old philosopher wrote together with the lawyer and legal theorist Klaus Günther, the political scientist Nicole Deitelhoff and the social philosopher Rainer Forst are clear and precise, and certainly deliberative. As it is said, they underlie “the rightly understood solidarity with Israel and Jews in Germany.”
Published on the website of the “Normative Orders” research center at Frankfurt Goethe University and titled “Principles of Solidarity. A Statement,” Habermas and his three co-authors speak of a “principally justified counterattack” by Israel to the “attack by Hamas, which cannot be surpassed in terms of cruelty.” But: “Principles of proportionality, avoiding civilian casualties and waging a war with the prospect of future peace must be guiding principles.”
Israel’s right to exist is part of Germany’s political culture
One of the other principles is that Israel’s actions “in no way” justify anti-Semitic reactions, especially not in Germany. The Federal Republic’s self-image includes a political culture “for which, in light of the mass crimes of the Nazi era, Jewish life and Israel’s right to exist are central elements that are particularly worthy of protection.” Furthermore, the commitment to this is “fundamental for our political coexistence.”
The four scientists still speak of “elementary rights” to freedom, physical integrity and protection from racism and that these are “indivisible” and that those “who have cultivated anti-Semitic emotions and beliefs behind all sorts of pretexts” must also be guided by this and are now “ “uninhibited”. Despite all the concern for the fate of the Palestinian civilian population, the standards would slip “if genocidal intentions are attributed to the Israeli actions.”
The tone of this statement is pleasantly sober. Given the increasingly heated debates and deepening rifts, it seems appropriate. This “statement” clearly positions itself in favor of Israel and Jewish life and condemns even the most subtle displays of anti-Semitism. But all of this with a sense of proportion.