That caused a lot of criticism on Wednesday. As the anti-Semitism commissioner for the German state, Blume denounces anti-Semitic tendencies in the “lateral thinker” scene, gives lectures, commissions studies and promotes dialogue.
List headed by Iran and Hamas
The 45-year-old religious scholar is now in seventh place on the latest list, which is headed by Israel’s archenemy Iran. In second place is the militant Palestinian organization Hamas, which is committed to the destruction of Israel. The Wiesenthal-Zentrum justified the admission of Blum, among other things, with the fact that he had liked anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli and conspiratorial Twitter accounts and distributed posts since 2019. The organization did not write about which posts and which accounts were involved.
Central Council of Jews: “Absurd”
Not only is the German state government in Stuttgart appalled. The Israelite Religious Communities (IRG) in Germany are also stunned. “To put a bridge builder between Baden-Württemberg and Israel on a common list of enemies of Israel is monstrous,” they said. The SWC has not cooperated with the Jews living in Baden-Württemberg in the fight against anti-Semitism, nor has it made any concrete appearances so far. The Central Council of Jews in Germany tweeted that the allegations were “absurd”.
The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference Germany (ORD) sees it similarly. The decision left big question marks, said the board. It could only be a mistake by the SWC, especially since no one from the leadership of the Jewish community in Baden-Württemberg had been contacted in advance.
Blume thanked for the reactions of the Jewish communities and “for a lot of solidarity”. “The Jewish state communities were wonderfully clear,” he wrote on Twitter. And: “Some allegations of the so-called SWC do not even stand up to a superficial examination.” He has been exposed to right-wing extremist Internet trolls for years, and especially since he took office in 2018.
As the country’s anti-Semitism commissioner, the religious expert and father of a family is the contact person for Jewish groups, but also for mosque communities, educational institutions and municipalities.
Kretschmann: “Very strange”
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) called the allegations “incomprehensible and highly disconcerting”. It is also questionable whether such a ranking would help to overcome social divisions and anti-Semitism. Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) praised Blume as a highly committed, outstanding anti-Semitism commissioner. “I can’t think of a better person for this job,” he told the German press agency.
Both of them, Kretschmann and Strobl, can also be found in the SWC report: In it, the center criticizes that the two state politicians “inexplicably (…) allowed Blume (…) to continue to adhere to these anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli people Engage in social media activities “.
Established in 1977 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the center has become known for its global search for Nazi criminals in hiding. But it also tries to promote tolerance and fights against racism, anti-Semitism, terrorism and genocide all over the world.
However, the list has been criticized in the past. This is how the Wiesenthal Center named the German UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen on its list in 2019. The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, defended the diplomat and said: Such “really completely inappropriate” accusations would only complicate the discussion.
Source: Nachrichten
