Open letter to Volker Kauder, Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag

Here is our joint open letter: our association has long been in good contact with Mr Weiler. In the course of our regular exchanges the idea arose of giving further support to Mr Kauder’s welcome proposal regarding a duty to report antisemitic incidents:

Open letter to the Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Mr Volker Kauder

5.4.2018

Dear Mr Kauder, in an interview with Die Welt you called for a duty to report antisemitic incidents in schools. Many thanks for that! In doing so you show that you are prepared to open your eyes and look. This is sensible and necessary, for the subject of antisemitism tells us a great deal about the condition of an entire society. Antisemitism is a particular form of hostility towards minorities. It immediately triggers a whole series of images and conspiracy theories entrenched over centuries, which mostly prove themselves in a circular fashion. History has shown, in the case of hostility towards Jews, what catastrophe this can lead to. Quite apart from the sediment of antisemitic attitudes that has sadly always been present in the German majority society, antisemitism is now receiving a noticeable boost from the largely Muslim migration of recent years and from developments in Turkey and the Middle East. In addition, current political developments in the Middle East give rise to fresh iterations of such antisemitic images, which then mostly discharge themselves loudly in so-called “anti-Zionism” and hatred of Israel. Anti-Christian stereotypes are likewise given new nourishment in this way. Your initiative to put a stop to this as close to the source as possible is absolutely to the point. From an evaluation of such school reports, the sources of hate infiltration can be narrowed down and dried up by preventive or repressive means.But let us not forget: the subject of antisemitism is only one indicator. Let us carry the whole matter a courageous step further: neither Christian nor Muslim children should be harassed and attacked on account of their faith or their origin. Neither Alevis nor Yazidis, neither Kurds nor people of a different skin colour. And, of course, nor should “ethnically German” children. 

The duty to report should therefore not relate solely to antisemitic incidents; rather, a culture should emerge in which people look closely, name problems and take action. If it is noticed that a child clearly speaks or behaves against the spirit of the free democratic basic order, this should (where not relevant under criminal law) be recorded anonymously. Instead of culturally relativist apologetics, the school should actively approach the parents. Trained educationalists and social workers should be available to the schools, who would speak with the parents (in their mother tongue if necessary), with the children and with the teaching staff. The more incidents schools report, the more qualified support should be available to those schools. 

Compulsory parents’ evenings, kindergarten attendance and a school which does not interfere in the upbringing of children but does actively educate them in “pluralism” are further measures. In addition it would make sense to create means of inspecting Koran schools, to withdraw support from youth work that has a segregating effect, and to impose requirements to remove antisemitic literature and discriminatory material from such settings. The funds thus freed up would then be available for joint youth work. These would be good societal answers to those who believe they can claim the truth for themselves alone.

Yes, this means “more state” once again. But steering a ship in difficult times requires “all hands on deck”.

We should ensure that religions can develop positively here and that their influence remains limited within a secular state.

Germany has incurred a historical responsibility arising from its deeds during the Nazi era and also from its silent inaction during the genocide of the Armenians. Living up to that responsibility requires intervening actively in schools now and putting binding values for peaceful coexistence into practice while children are still at school.Mr Kauder, the subject of antisemitism is a particular one; it can best be done justice if the fight against it is placed in a society-wide context. It then no longer stands alone as a phenomenon, but becomes recognisable as an integral gauge of the degree of social cohesion. Yours sincerely,

Supporters:

Irmer, Hans-Jürgen (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU) Frei, Thorsten (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU) Stumpp, Margit (Member of the German Bundestag, Greens) Bellmann, Veronika (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU) Hirte, Prof. Heribert (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU) Müller, Alexander (Member of the German Bundestag, FDP) Patzelt, Martin (Member of the German Bundestag, CDU)