01-2003

The Church and Israel

Israel - the embarrassing facts of German and Christian history

by Martin Stöhr

Anti-Semitism has been encouraged by statements which have their roots in the New Testament. Christian theology must admit to its share in responsibility for the Holocaust. Now that we are seeing a re-orientation in Christian theology, what are the consequences for Germany’s relationship with Israel and Palestine?
On 16 November 2002, at the opening of a discussion at the Adam von Trott Foundation in Imshausen, M. Stöhr presented 56 theses under the above title, a number of which we present here.

Christianity has interpreted the history of Israel without consideration for Jewish self-understanding. Israel was consigned to the past, as the Christian, but outdated, prehistory of the church. Israel was used as the dark foil for the light of Christianity, and was accused of ”murdering the Son of God”.

All forms of Christianity have been impregnated by this poison, which is only now slowly being drawn out. The ecumenical consensuses speak of Israel continuing to be God’s chosen people, of the faith in God which we share, of our common mission to work for right and justice, peace and liberation, truth and human dignity, and our common hope and interpretation of history. Some parts of Christendom also speak of a responsibility for the people and state of Israel which can only be fulfilled through responsibility for the Palestinian people.

German history is tied to that of the Jewish people through the murder of six million Jews, which was legitimised by our scientists, propagated by our media and institutions, accepted by the majority of the population and carried out by our industrial sector.

Although there have been, and still are, contempt for and enmity against Jews in all societies, only in Germany did anti-Semitism become government programme and practice which were executed almost without opposition.

The generations which have grown up since World War II are not guilty, nor should they be expected to feel guilty, but they can be expected to take responsibility for what happened and for seeing that nothing of the kind ever happens again.

For our national politics, this means speaking publicly and clearly against Nazi-like, racist, anti-Semitic attitudes, against the idea that criticism of Jews or Israel is not allowed or that it takes courage, or that Jews or Israel are to blame if they are hated or held in contempt (cf. game-playing with anti-Semitism by Germans such as Karsli, Möllemann or Walser).

For our foreign policy, it means not doing or tolerating anything which endangers the existence of Israel. The memorandum from the Evangelical Church of Germany (EKD) in 1975: ”Christians must emphatically insist on a proper balance between the justified claims of both sides, the Palestinian Arabs and the Jews. The Palestinian Arabs must not be asked to bear the consequences of the conflict by themselves, neither should Israel alone be made responsible for the clashes between them.”

We require precise information about our liability and responsibility in view of German and Christian history. The renewal of both these relationships is only just beginning. Last not least: we do not live in the region of this conflict. We are a part of the problem, because of our Christian and German history, not the advisers or the solution to the problem.

We are called to:
- opposition to every form of, and all game-playing with, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism in this country. Criticisms must be expressed concretely.
- support for the Israeli peace movement.
- support for Palestinian and/or Arab human rights and peace groups.
- refusal to tolerate any form of anti-Islamism.

Martin Stöhr is Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, specialising in Jewish-Christian relations. From 1966 to 1984 he was one of the presidents of the German Coordinating Council of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, and later was president of the International Council of Christians and Jews.