German official urged to resign after calling British officer Israeli ‘war criminal’

August 28, 2022 by JNS
Read on for article

A German official has been pressed to resign or be fired immediately for making accusations about a decorated World War II British Army hero and icon in Israel, reported Fox News.

British Army Gen. Orde Wingate. Credit: U.S. Military Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Michael Blume, commissioner against anti-Semitism for the German state of Baden-Württemberg, has called the late British Gen. Orde Wingate a “war criminal” and “British murderer.”

Wingate advocated starting in 1937 for the need to create a Jewish state and stop Nazi leader Adolf Hitler from exterminating Europe’s Jewish populations. Streets and squares in Israel are named after him, as well as the Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports. He was killed fighting in World War II and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told Fox News, “Wingate’s spirit and disruptive thinking were an inspiration to the founding fathers of the IDF, and he is deeply admired until today.”

Last year, the Simon Wiesenthal Center included Blume in its list of “Global Top Ten Anti-Semites.”

Sandra Hagee Parker, chairwoman of the Christians United for Israel Action (CUFI) Fund, told Fox News following Blume’s remarks: “Given his history of anti-Jewish bigotry, that [he] is allowed to stay in his present role is an embarrassment to the people of Germany and makes a mockery of the fight against anti-Semitism. Mr. Blume is plainly an anti-Semite who should be fired immediately.”

Retired Col. Nelson Mellitz, national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., said Blume should resign or Baden-Württemberg officials should “immediately remove him from office.” Mellitz added that “as a decorated British Army officer during the 1930s and World War II, Wingate’s service is revered by Israelis, Americans and the British.”

Historian and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, a military historian and expert on Wingate, also called on Blume to resign, as did Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp, who commanded British troops in Afghanistan.

Wingate “bravely defended Jews in Palestine against murderous Arab gangs in the 1930s. He was a committed Zionist, revered as a hero and friend in Israel,” Kemp told Fox News.

“Germany, of all of the countries in the world, has a responsibility to fight Jew-hatred at every turn,” he said. “And for one of its public officials—whether or not he’s an anti-Semitism commissioner—to support this sickness is a cause for national disgrace. Herr Blume shames Germany and should resign or be fired.”

JNS

Speak Your Mind

Comments received without a full name will not be considered
Email addresses are NEVER published! All comments are moderated. J-Wire will publish considered comments by people who provide a real name and email address. Comments that are abusive, rude, defamatory or which contain offensive language will not be published

Got something to say about this?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from J-Wire

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading