The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians

by Sa'ed Atshan, Katharina Galor

Berlin is home to Europe’s largest Palestinian diaspora community and one of the world’s largest Israeli diaspora communities. Germany’s guilt about the Nazi Holocaust has led to a public disavowal of anti-Semitism and strong support for the Israeli state. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Berlin report experiencing increasing levels of racism and Islamophobia. In The Moral Triangle Sa’ed Atshan and Katharina Galor draw on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with Israelis, Palestinians, and Germans in Berlin to explore these asymmetric relationships in the context of official German policies, public discourse, and the private sphere. They show how these relationships stem from narratives surrounding moral responsibility, the Holocaust, the Israel/Palestine conflict, and Germany’s recent welcoming of Middle Eastern refugees. They also point to spaces for activism and solidarity among Germans, Israelis, and Palestinians in Berlin that can help foster restorative justice and account for multiple forms of trauma. Highlighting their interlocutors’ experiences, memories, and hopes, Atshan and Galor demonstrate the myriad ways in which migration, trauma, and contemporary state politics are inextricably linked.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Jewish

256 pages, Hardcover

Published April 24, 2020

Reviews

[malou · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The (...) German left’s attitude to Israel/Palestine is truly complex and for the uninitiated foreign leftist, perplexing and occasionally shocking". This quote from a Jacobin article describes my feelings from the past year pretty well. In Leipzig, I've seen unironic, bright pink "Zionist-feminist" stickers in lefty bars and Israeli flags in a lefty neighbourhood. Friends have explained the Antideutsche movement, "radical left" Germans against German nationalism - but in solidarity with the Israeli state. Still, the crackdown on Palestinian voices around Germany from the past month really reignited the shock.

For me, this book has done more than any other work to help shed light on some of that. The researchers (a queer Palestinian man and an Israeli woman) conducted countless qualitative interviews with Israelis, Palestinians and Germans in Berlin. It tells the story of Israeli bands being banned from German music festivals for supporting BDS and Palestinian writers being uninvited from cultural spaces in Berlin following pressure from the Israeli Embassy. It describes the conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism for Israeli state policies in German public discourse, and how this has contributed to normalising Islamophobia. It also applauds Germany for the immense work it has done in taking responsibility for the Holocaust while arguing that guilt about WWII has made support for Palestinian livelihoods seem impossible for many Germans. It describes how, generally, Jewish Germans in Berlin live in more fear than Jewish Israelis do - who often find themselves being more critical of the Israeli state than their German friends. These are just some of the stories/analyses that struck me most - there's so much more there.

A line from the conclusion: "German public figures in Berlin could benefit from listening more deeply to their Israeli neighbors, most of whom at once embrace their Palestinian neighbors, hold on to their Jewish heritage, care deeply about their loved ones in Israel, and are critical of the Israeli state."

This is the type of academic work that makes me feel excited about academia. I feel like this book deserves to be so much more widely read than it has been (only 19 ratings here on Goodreads). I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Israel/Palestine, intergenerational trauma and memory, (art and) politics, as well as migration and urban studies. Or just anyone looking to engage with some excellent research - in which the position of the researchers is not just acknowledged but instrumental to the work. There's a chapter on moral responsibility and a (short) bit on restorative justice. If anything those could have been fleshed out more. On the whole though: wow.

[Allison Meakem · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very academic text, and such an important one at that. Finally, the loose ends and thoughts and qualms that constantly cycle through my brain have found a robust (vindicating!) framework. I can't even begin to explain this book's personal relevance to me, and what I think it can offer German society and global scholarship. "The Moral Triangle" should be required reading for anyone interested in the politics and sociology of memory, the Holocaust and its aftereffects, modern Germany, Israel/Palestine, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and restorative justice more broadly.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sensitive and penetrating analysis of the relationships between and among Germans, Israelis, and Palestinians in the context of Berlin.

[Alona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unquestionably the most significant book on contemporary Germany published in 2020. Highly recommend.

—

This book traces and articulates the “moral triangle” between Germany, Israel, and Palestine, providing a window into the much understudied third leg of the triangle — the relationship between Germany and Palestine, Germans and Palestinians.

This book critically analyses the contentious role of Germany within the I/P conflict, noting the continued pervasiveness of Islamophobia, antisemitism, and philo-Zionism within contemporary Germany. Additionally, it highlighting the meaningful strides towards “Post-Zionism“ among many Israelis and Palestinians in Berlin today. Looking at both legal/governmental realities as well as social dynamics, the two authors reveal their extensive ethnographic research illuminating the lived experiences of Palestinians and Israelis in Berlin.

Truly cannot recommend this book enough! Especially to anyone familiar with Berlin and/or invested in better understanding racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia in Europe. A true 10/10.