Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just got a new car. The new sports car is equipped with all kinds of perks, such as bullet proof tires and an automated fire extinguishing system. Bibi’s car makes President Obama’s ride look like something built for the grandparents. What’s interesting (aside from the $1 million price tag) is that Bibi’s car is an Audi — a German company.
Many Ashkenazi Jews still refuse to buy anything German made, and especially cars because of that industry’s assistance to Hitler. Holocaust survivors infused that buying policy into their children, many of whom on principle will buy more expensive and less quality devices built elsewhere.
I’m not sure if this is the first German-made vehicle bought by the Prime Minister, but it most certainly is a sign that Israel is not beholden to its image as a post-Holocaust creation that directly reflects the Nazis’ atrocities. Instead, this purchase represents that Israel is not rooted in the Holocaust, but actually symbolizes the Jewish peoples’ right for a homeland given that they were discriminated time and time again for thousands of years.
This shift is particularly interesting as Israel phases questions about its legitimacy and whether a Jewish state should even exist. Also noteworthy is rising anti-Semitism in Europe, which could further fuel the argument that Jews need a safe haven.
Should there be outrage that Israel’s leader is supporting a country and an industry that murdered 6 million Jews? Or should Israel acknowledge that 70 years have passed and the German people of today are different than they were during the Nazi era?
I know that many Israelis, my Holocaust-survivor grandparents included, would argue that we should never forget, and some would say we should most certainly never forgive, which includes not buying German goods.
