Erdan calls on Germany to impose sanctions on Iran
‘History has taught us that antisemitic threats from fanatical leaders must be taken seriously’
Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan implored Germany to take a more aggressive position against Iran and called the regime an “exporter of terror,” in a keynote address Sunday at Frankfurt’s Deutscher Israelkongress, Europe’s largest pro-Israel conference.
“Germany should take a more aggressive stance against the Iranian regime .... It was only yesterday that President Rouhani called Israel ‘metastatic cancer.’ History has taught us that antisemitic threats from fanatical leaders, and exporters of terror who have hegemonic aspirations, must be taken seriously,” he told some 3,000 attendees.
Erdan addressed Israel’s most pressing geopolitical issues, including Iran; Gaza; the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement; and the European Union’s funding of BDS. The speech was part of a visit by Erdan to Germany and Italy, in which he focused on strengthening the campaign against BDS in Europe.
Erdan said it should be a common goal to change the behavior of the Iranian regime. “Forcing a change in Iran’s behavior is necessary for the safety of the people of Israel, of the people of Iran, and of the people of Europe,” he said.
“Changing the behavior of the regime is what the Iranian people want. That is what the Gulf states want, and I call on Germany to join the US sanctions against Iran. And if Germany does so, other European countries will do the same.”
Erdan has recently said Israel has revealed several Iranian attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on European soil.
As long as the Iranian government uses expressions such as “Death to Israel” and displays them on its ballistic missiles, he said, and Hezbollah continues to threaten Israel with tens of thousands of missiles, Israel will do all that is necessary to protect itself.
He also called on Germany to be an ally in fighting the BDS movement, which the country already beginning to do.
“German states and cities have taken steps to ensure that public funds are not transferred to BDS initiatives. German banks have closed BDS accounts, and German broadcasters have refused to broadcast Roger Waters’s performances. Every time I now hear his songs on the radio, I turn the station. Antisemitism will never be part of our playlist,” he declared.
“The EU would never finance organizations that promote racism, so too, it should cease funding organizations that promote boycotts against the State of Israel. Germany can lead the way in halting the flow of funds to these organizations,” he added.
While in the past antisemitism demonized Jews and blamed them for all of Germany’s troubles, this new form of antisemitism demonizes the Jewish state and blames it for all the problems in the Middle East, Erdan argued.