12/5 to 12/7 | Class and the German Ambassador to Israel

Israel is a place of miracles.  In the 2nd century BCE, the Maccabees revolted against Antiochus to take control of Judea.  Upon returning to the Temple, there was only enough oil to last for one day; it lasted for eight.  Now, we commemorate this miracle in a celebration called Hanukkah.  Over 2000 years later, the Jews--the modern descendants of the Maccabees--rose from the ashes of the Holocaust to (re)establish an independent Jewish state in the Land of Israel.  Shortly after independence in May 1948, the Jews managed to fend off attacks by the armies of five separate Arab nations.  Now, we commemorate this miracle in a celebration called Yom Ha'atzmaut, Independence Day.  David Ben Gurion said it best: "In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles!"

Today, I had the opportunity to experience a modern-day miracle.  I, a Jew, got to sit in on an event in Jerusalem, the center of Jewish tradition, in which the ambassador of Germany, a historic enemy of the Jewish people, spoke freely about Germany's relationship with Israel, the Jewish state.  This may not initially seem like a big deal, but give it a little thought and it becomes quite extraordinary.  Approximately 70 years after the Holocaust, in which the German people made it their goal to eliminate the Jews, a representative of the German government came simply to speak with the other side.  Almost 70 years after the worst atrocity the world has ever known, the perpetrator can now speak to his victim as an ally and a friend.  To think, less than one week after I went to Yad Vashem to hear my grandmother's testimonial on surviving the Holocaust, I could sit in front of a representative of the nation that did this to my own family!  Incredible, right?

Andreas Michaelis, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the State of Israel.

The ambassador spoke mainly on Germany and how it has grappled with the Holocaust.  He also touched on Germany's role in the Middle East today, especially how it balances its "special relationship" with Israel with that of the Arab world.  He was asked a few tough questions on armaments deals, the Eurozone, etc., but he took it all in good stride.  The shadow of the Holocaust will never completely leave Germany, but the ambassador made it very clear that Germany does all it can to support Israel.  The relationship is not perfect, and it certainly does not look like that between the United States and Israel, but it is definitely a start!

Other than this event, my week has been fairly boring.  As I have said many times, I have a lot of work to do, so I have not had much free time to go out and see Jerusalem.  I have been doing a lot of studying for my Archaeology of Jerusalem quiz that I took today, so I am very relieved to have that out of the way.  Right now, I am in the process of working on my Business Ethics paper on the Israeli diamond industry, which will take me a while to complete.  I also have a lot of Hebrew homework as well as a quiz this Thursday.  How I miss the days of September when homework took no longer than an hour!

*Picture credit to Steven Perlin.*