German MPs must know they ‘support antisemitic BDS movement’ - official

BDS uses the same language once used by Nazis to express: ‘Don't buy from Jews!’ Today, this means: ‘Do not buy from Israel!’

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
An anti-Israeli protest inspired by BDS (photo credit: REUTERS)
An anti-Israeli protest inspired by BDS
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The German commissioner to combat antisemitism in the state of Hesse, Uwe Becker, on Wednesday stepped up his criticism of three left-wing MPs who are on the advisory board of a BDS entity that seeks Israel’s destruction, declaring they should be aware that they support an antisemitic campaign.
Becker told The Jerusalem Post that “I think that over the past weeks, there was enough time for all representatives of the German Bundestag to see, that the DPG is not stepping back from their support of the antisemitic BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] movement.”
He added that “And everybody who supports BDS or affiliated groups should know that he or she supports an antisemitic movement.”
Becker continued that “The self-declared human rights movement is in reality a machine of intimidation, a new form of terror against Israel. The actions range from branding Israeli goods in stores to intimidating artists and scientists to disrupting events. BDS uses the same language once used by Nazis to express: ‘Don't buy from Jews!’ Today, this means: ‘Do not buy from Israel!’”
The three members of the German parliament who are on the advisory board of the pro-BDS group, the German-Palestinian Society, are Omid Nouripour (The Green Party), Aydan Özoguz (Social Democratic Party) and Christine Buchholz (The Left Party).
The Post sent press queries to all three MPs, including the head of the German-Palestinian Society, Nazih Musharbash.
After the Free Democratic Party MP Olaf in der Beek resigned from the pro-BDS group in May, Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Munich Jewish community and a Holocaust survivor, urged, in a statement to the Post, that the remaining MPs resign. She said: “All true democrats ought to follow in der Beek's example and leave the German-Palestinian Society advisory board.”
The European Jewish Congress along with many German Jewish leaders have called on the MPs to resign.
The Post sent a press a query to Volker Beck, a German Green Party politician, who frequently criticizes German BDS activities. Beck has refused to condemn the BDS activities of the German-Palestinian Society and the MPs on the advisory board.
The Post has asked Beck if the MPs should resign. Yet he has refused to issue a detailed comment since the Post first reported on the BDS activities of his Green Party colleague Omid Nouripour in early 2020.