The populist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany Party, labeled “extremist” by German authorities, wants to build closer ties to President Trump.

BERLIN — It was 1885 when Friedrich Trump first left Bad Dürkheim, in Germany’s western Palatinate region, for the United States. Now, 140 years later, the populist, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party wants to make his grandson President Donald Trump an honorary citizen of the district.

The post On the rise in Germany, anti-immigrant populists reach out to Trump first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the most popular party in the country, according to a striking new poll published Tuesday.

If a national election were now held, 26 percent of Germans would vote for the AfD, according to a poll carried out by the Forsa Institute for Social Research and Statistical Analysis. That result puts the far-right party ahead of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s mainstream conservative bloc, which slid to second with 24 percent support in the poll.

With the far-right National Rally already leading clearly in France, the bombshell German survey is likely to fuel unease among mainstream leaders across Europe. Right-wing populist parties have performed strongly in elections in recent years from Poland to Romania, and Portugal to the Netherlands.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-far-right-afd-lead-survey/

The post Far-right AfD tops German popularity ranking in bombshell new survey first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Last weekend saw Hamas release more hostages as planned, despite some flexing that they might do otherwise. Threats from the US and the actual mobilization of Israeli reserves may have had something to do with everything coming off as scheduled. But there was another big surprise waiting. Four hostages that died in captivity were also returned this week. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were among them, brothers ages four and 10 months. Their mother Shiri’s remains were also supposedly returned, but Israel asserts that the body they received is not her. This has caused a great deal of emotional pain as well as outrage.

The return itself was a disgusting spectacle. Hamas used the opportunity for a propaganda pageant complete with masked fighters, abundant weaponry and a billboard sized depiction of Netanyahu as some kind of demonic vampire. The horror of what happened to those innocent children and the audacity of those who celebrate such evil is almost beyond comprehension.

Arab leaders are scrambling to come up with an alternative for Trump’s Riviera proposal for the future of Gaza. Regional heavyweights, like Egypt’s Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah among others, are convening with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to begin discussing what to offer as an alternative. This is not even their main meeting, but an informal gathering to try and build consensus before their actual summit and negotiations. Is there a good solution where everyone agrees and real peace is the result? Not likely. But they are under tremendous pressure to counter Trump’s idea with something concrete. The potential for a coalition of Arab nations to take direct responsibility for Gaza is worth noting, as is the likelihood of conflict with Israel should they do so.

Negotiations are also taking place between the US and Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. It has been reported that lower level contacts have been taking place for some time. There has been more consternation among the myriad individuals who believe they have a voice in this settlement than we can reasonably cover. Europe fears they are being cut out and that Putin will keep the territory he has conquered with little repercussion. And Russia continues to make gains. Ukraine has not accepted a mineral deal with the US yet and the rhetoric surrounding it is only heating up.

It’s also shaping up to be a big weekend. Germany is heading to the polls on Sunday and the AfD has continued to make gains. Merz, heir to Angela Merkel and leader of the CDU, is expected to come out on top but coming up with a stable governing coalition may prove difficult should the AfD emerge in second place as expected. Excluding the AfD from government has only fueled their support, as it has with other conservative parties across the EU. Another fragile coalition is unlikely to be able to take the kinds of actions necessary to remedy the country’s underlying issues and restore confidence in the major parties that have ruled since WW2.

Nasrallah’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday as well. A stadium in Lebanon is set aside for the event and Hezbollah hopes to show the world they are not as down and out as it seems. We’ll see. They are probably hoping Israel won’t send any “condolences,” like they did to Nasrallah’s short lived successor. No doubt the whole event will be a massive outpouring of rage and hatred for Israel.

Also, please pray for Mr. Robert Nunnery. He has been the minister in Fayetteville for many years as well as an Area Coordinator and a mainstay at the Feast in Myrtle Beach, SC. He is currently in the hospital with pneumonia. We would ask that you remember him and ask God to help him recover.

I’m writing this in my dad’s stead today. We are up against deadlines for this month’s letter as well as the next issue of 21^st Century WATCH, which happened to line up this time around. Many of you may have noticed that last month’s letter is just now arriving. It was mailed on time but got delayed somewhere along the way. We were beginning to think they had all been lost but they have begun showing up here in the last day or two. We are also looking forward to campaign meetings in Detroit, Michigan on the 15th and Cleveland, Ohio on the 22nd of March. Everyone is welcome! The details are available online or you are welcome to call our office for more information.

Regards,

Michael Armstrong

The post Weekly Update by Michael Armstrong – February 21, 2025 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz, who is tipped to be Germany’s next chancellor, had tried to rely on support from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for the second time in a week – but the bill was defeated by 350 votes to 338.

The strategy was widely condemned, including by Merz’s predecessor as CDU leader and former chancellor Angela Merkel, who accused him of turning his back on a previous pledge not to work with AfD in the Bundestag.

Merz defended his actions as “necessary” and said he had not sought the party’s support.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyegkpkg31o

The post German immigration bill rejected despite far-right backing first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Members of the new Jewish factions for Germany’s far-right AfD Party sing the traditional Jewish song “Shalom Alechem” on stage together. Credit: Orit Arfa.

Judging from the number of cameras and reporters present—from Deutsche Welle to The New York Times magazine—it would seem that this was the most important Jewish event in Germany since the opening of Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

The press conference felt more like a trial: This could be the AfD’s moment of redemption, a chance to prove that it’s not the party of anti-Semites or neo-Nazis that the mainstream media (and the official German Jewish establishment) claims it is. For Jews, it was an ultimate act of defiance—not against the ruling German coalition, but against their co-religionists.

Since its founding in 2013 as a Euro-skeptic party, the AfD has been sidelined by the official German Jewish community. As the media got wind of the group’s formation, 17 Jewish organizations united together with a gusto unseen over other issues of Jewish concern, such as Germany’s support of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal; Germany’s funding of anti-Israel NGOs; and, more locally, allegedly anti-Israel content at the Berlin’s pubic Jewish Museum. Led by the Zentralat der Juden (Central Council of Jews), organizations like the Abraham Geiger College and the American Jewish Committee Berlin signed a joint statement categorically calling AFD “anti-Semitic,” “anti-democratic” and “no party for Jews.”

Ten members of “Jews in the AfD” (JAfD) sat on stage, with men donning kipahs they don’t normally wear, to answer media questions and defend their decision with equal gusto. The founders didn’t expect this much attention, but they expected opposition, even to the extent of being barred from their original Frankfurt location due to pressure—a German boycott of Jews the Zentralat didn’t mind. The Zentralat also sponsored chartered buses for a demonstration of Jewish university students held in Frankfurt at the time of the caucus. There, signs came out against certifying the AfD as “kosher.”

To some, the new location for the caucus turned out to be symbolic. When a speaker recounted German cities where Muslim migrants attacked young girls, one Jewish member, Micha, shouted: “And right here!”

Just a few hundred meters away, the murdered, violated body of Jewish schoolgirl, Susanna Feldman, was found near train tracks. Micha, a family friend who recalls a young Susanna playing on his lap, switched from the Linke (“Left”) Party to the AfD after her murder by an Iraqi asylum-seeker who stayed in the country illegally.

“It finished me,” he said. At his request, the musical interlude of “Kol Nidrei” was played in Feldmann’s memory.

Russian-Jewish participation

JAfD members support the party as the only one speaking out against massive Muslim migration that they link to a rise in anti-Semitism and terror, viewing themselves as part of a growing, conservative European movement battling a left-wing trend towards open borders, globalization and what they view as the breakdown of Judeo-Christian values caused by mass Muslim migration.

Wolfgang Fuhl, co-chair of JAfD and a former Zentralat board member, reserved his harshest criticism for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party.

“I used to be a member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party), but I got more conservative as I got older and joined the CDU,” he said at the press conference. “I didn’t leave the CDU. The CDU left me. Under Merkel, the CDU has shifted to the left.”

He declined to respond to his Jewish foes, except to accuse the Zentralat of becoming an arm of the Merkel government in the spirit of “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Unlike in the United States, Germany does not separate religion and state. German Jews (and other religious members) can opt to register and be taxed as members of their religious community. The Zentralat today receives government funding to the tune of 13 million euros a year (nearly $15 million). Of the 200,000 Jews estimated to be living in Germany, the majority hail from the former Soviet Union, who were welcomed to Germany after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Russian-speaking Jews form half of the founding members of “Jews in the AfD.”

The idea for the faction began with Fuhl’s internal, informal talks with fellow AfD members. A WhatsApp group soon formed for the like-minded, “rebellious” Jews to dish on “Fake (German) News,” the perceived weakness of the German Jewish community, and bona-fide “neo-Nazis.”

A representative from the office of Bundestag member and party leader Beatrix Von Storch eventually joined the chat. The Jews in the AfD happily got what the Jewish community made taboo: direct lines of communication with Germany’s most controversial political party.

‘I know that Jews are patriots’

At the event, AfD politicians across the political hierarchy seemed to compete over who could give the more pro-Jewish, pro-Israel speech.

“I was really shocked to see what was written about your meeting. Just shocked,” said Erika Steinbach, a former CDU leader and now chair of the AfD-affiliated Desiderius Erasmus

Foundation. “I could never imagine that in a democracy, a decision freely made by people, by Jews, irrespective of their party, would be treated in such a terrible way.”

She, along with other party members, cited causes for concern for Jews in Germany: attacks against Jews for wearing kipahs and reported taunting of Jewish schoolchildren.

“I know that Jews are patriots,” she said, adding that she would never join an anti-Semitic party. A common refrain at the caucus was: “Judaism belongs to Germany,” unlike Islam.

Beatrix von Storch likened the Jewish criticism of JAfD to criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she categorizes along with a hero among European patriots, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

The Netanyahu government, including the Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, however, has maintained distance to the AfD.

Likud Party Knesset member Yehuda Glick, who has also been lobbying to forge diplomatic contacts with the right-wing Freedom Party in Austria, arguing that they have eschewed any Nazi roots, is one of the few Israeli politicians openly calling for dialogue with the AfD.

“AfD members have come out with very strong statements in support of Israel and the Jewish people, and, with polls showing it is now ranked as the second-largest party in Germany, it would be extremely unwise to dogmatically shun dialogue with them,” he said.

Addressing Israeli policy, Bundestag member Petr Bystron hailed the “historic day” and castigated the German government’s increase of funding to UNWRA, as well as its criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. “I can pledge in my name and in the name of the members of the Bundestag that we’re the only party that wants this European support of Palestinian terrorism to come to an end,” he said.

‘That doesn’t automatically make it an anti-Semitic party’

Jews in the AfD hope to engage the party about incidents, policies and statements that have been cited as proof of anti-Semitism endemic to the party. For instance, the AfD platform forbids kosher ritual animal slaughter, which subsumes the Jewish shechitah—a target of the Muslim population.

“It’s a problem, but that doesn’t automatically make it an anti-Semitic party,” said Fuhl. “There is disagreement about it within the party, and we’ll address it.”

Other oft-cited problematic AfD statements include AfD chair Alexander Gauland calling the Holocaust a “bird speck in glorious German history,” and regional parliament member Björn Höcke saying the grand Berlin Holocaust memorial is a “monument of shame.” JAfD doesn’t necessarily see these comments as trivializing the Shoah, believing such words have been interpreted out of context or overplayed by the media.

“I prefer to be part of a party that wants to help living Jews, not dead Jews,” Fuhl said to applause.

Perhaps as an unintended consequence, the event has snaked out alleged anti-Semites. In condemning the founding of JAfD, regional AfD parliament member Wolfgang Gedeon who has been accused of trafficking in Jewish conspiracy theories, wrote on Facebook: “The AfD has adopted a positive attitude towards the real, Christian identity of the European continent for good reason. In the best case, this group [the JAfD] is completely unnecessary; in the worst case, it is a Zionist lobby organization which runs against the interests of Germany and the Germans.”

Beatrix von Storch rejected Gedeon’s message, telling JNS: “The founding of the JAfD enjoys enormous support within the party. [Gedeon’s] statements are inherently false, politically irrelevant and isolated within the party.”

Source: http://www.jwire.com.au/jewish-supporters-of-germanys-far-right-afd-see-party-as-means-to-counter-anti-semitism/

The post Jewish supporters of Germany’s far-right AfD see party as means to counter anti-Semitism first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The world was watching on Nov. 9, 1989, when east Berliners climbed over the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate, reuniting a country long divided. But it was about a year later, on Oct. 3, that Germany officially became one again.

On Wednesday, the 28th anniversary of German Unity Day was celebrated with the unveiling of a large-scale photo collage installed by the French street artist known as JR.

The images depict Germans celebrating atop the wall, the word “freedom” scrawled below them, while border guards look on, helpless to act. The gate is the backdrop of the city’s annual Unity Day celebration, which features food and entertainment in the heart of the city, and draws an average of a million visitors a year.

Although this year marks the first year where the wall has been gone for longer than it stood, the country’s divisions are not a thing of the past. Just a few blocks away from the main celebration, a right-wing demonstration with the motto, “Day of the nation,” drew at least several hundred participants while a counter-demonstration nearby attracted a larger crowd, complete with musical performances and plenty of peace flags.

With the repercussions of violent, anti-migrant demonstrations in the East German city of Chemnitz last month still playing out in the highest levels of government, such demonstrations serve as a reminder that Germany, despite its history, is not immune to the social and political fragmentation that many of its European neighbors — and the US — are also experiencing right now.

The far-right nationalist Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) became the first far-right party to enter Parliament in more than half a century last September. It is especially popular in former East Germany — above all, in Saxony — where it garnered more votes than Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Its popularity is on the rise: a poll released on Monday indicated that across the country, the AfD is now the country’s second most popular party, albeit by a single point — 18 percent compared to the Social Democratic Party’s 17 percent. The party ran on an anti-Islam platform and its politicians have sparked outrage with anti-Semitic statements — elements that do not bode well for those in Germany who strive for social unification.

Reuters, FILE  In this file photo, East Berlin border guards stand atop the Berlin Wall in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Nov. 11, 1989.

(MORE: 6 arrested for allegedly forming right-wing terror cell in Germany, planning armed attack on foreigners)

Right-wing protests and a counter-demonstration highlight division in Berlin

At around 2 p.m. on Unity Day, a far-right nationalist group called “We are for Germany,” an offshoot of the anti-Islam citizen’s movement, PEGIDA, gathered in front of Berlin’s central train station to march for border controls and a referendum on Germany leaving the EU, among other demands, according to the Facebook event page.

When ABC News arrived on the scene, several hundred mostly male demonstrators had gathered in an area cordoned off by police. Many held German flags, while some had signs attacking Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is a primary target of many right-wing groups that criticize her migration policy. “Chemnitz is everywhere in Germany,” read one sign, perhaps a reference to the anti-immigrant sentiment present during last month’s events in the eastern German city.

Across the police barrier, a small group of counter-protestors held up handmade signs, occasionally chanting “We lost the war” and “There is no right to Nazi propaganda.” At a certain point, the country’s divisions seemed on full display as right-wing demonstrators turned to face the protestors, chanting, “We are many.” Both sides were equally impassioned.

A much larger counterdemonstration showed its own display of strength a short walk to the east, where protesters outnumbered their right-wing counterparts. A diverse range of participants had gathered, many holding rainbow-colored peace flags and “Refugees Welcome” signs, taking in a schedule of performances and speakers before the march began. The demonstration was organized by the Neighborhood Initiative for Civil Courage Against Right-Wing Extremism and “Berlin against Nazis,” and it’s one of several anti-right-wing extremism demonstrations slated to take place in Berlin over the next few weeks.

Jorg Carstensen/dpa Photo via Newscom

(MORE: Right-wing protests fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment continue in Germany)

The memory of Chemnitz

In the east German town in Chemnitz last month, tens of thousands of right-wing demonstrators, from the AfD and various extremist citizen’s groups, such as “Pro Chemnitz,” took to the streets to protest Chancellor Merkel’s handling of immigration policy after the death of a German man at the hands of an Iraqi and Syrian. Large-scale protests — met with equally formidable counter-protests — came after several days of violent protests earlier in the week, where right-wing extremists, mobilized by rumors circulating online, chased after foreigners and hurled xenophobic insults. The events were strongly condemned by Chancellor Merkel.

The demonstrations in Chemnitz revealed divisions at the highest level of government. Hans-Georg Maassen, then the chief of Germany’s federal domestic security agency, challenged the chancellor’s position on Chemnitz in the German newspaper, BILD. In an interview, he questioned the veracity of a video circulating on social media that showed men attacking foreigners, suggesting it may have been fake. While the comments ultimately cost him his position, German media speculated that it had sent a clear message of support to right-wing extremists. Maassen’s motives came under further suspicion when German public broadcaster ARD announced he had shown AfD politicians parts of an agency report before it was officially released.

Despite these divisions, on German Unity Day, JR’s work might still be seen as a reminder that despite having different views, a country can still come together as one.

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Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/protest-counter-demonstrations-german-unity-day-highlight-countrys/story?id=58254881

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