The groups alleged that Gabriel failed to support the democratic protests in Iran in December and January and enabled medical treatment for Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi – considered a successor to Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.Shahroudi, who served as Iran’s justice minister from 1999 to 2009, is accused by critics of having ordered roughly 2,000 executions, including the executions of adolescents.The flyer cited a January editorial in The Jerusalem Post that termed Gabriel the “poster boy of Hamas.” The Post editorial was in response to the EU- and US-designated terrorist organization’s praise of Gabriel’s description of Israel as an “apartheid regime” on its Twitter feed. “Do you continue to stand by your statement that Israel is an apartheid state?” yelled the protesters at Gabriel. The former top envoy did not retract his apartheid comment.The protesters further criticized Gabriel in the flyer for his silence about Turkey’s military operations against the Kurds in northern Syria. The flyer took Gabriel to task for his alleged appeasement of Turkey and military aid, including Leopard 2 tanks, to the Turkish government. Turkey used German tanks to conquer the Kurdish-controlled city of Afrin in northern Syria.Responding to the protesters, Gabriel defended his policy toward Israel. “There are few countries with which I have such a close relationship as Israel.” Gabriel said he also cited German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement that “Israel’s security belongs to Germany’s raison d’état.” Gabriel added that his attachment to Israel’s security means criticizing Israel for its policies toward the Palestinians. Gabriel was met with boos for his insistence on criticizing Israel. Gabriel remains immensely unpopular within Israel’s government and public.A representative of Gabriel’s successor, Heiko Mass, told the Post in March, “Foreign Minister Maas has never made such a statement [apartheid regime] and will also never do so in the future” in connection with the Jewish state.Sigmar Gabriel hielt heute seine erste Veranstaltung an der Uni Bonn. Kritische Studierende ließen ihn nicht geräuschlos gewähren und verwiesen mit Plakat und Flugblättern auf Gabriels israelfeindlche Politik.#gabriel #unibonn pic.twitter.com/MXAlCGhfqu
— Bär mit Ö (@Perpe_Mor) April 16, 2018