those nasty lessons from history

The Jersualem Post carries this account of German security forces in Lebanon:

In the past two weeks, three incidents have taken place in southern Lebanon between UNIFIL's (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) navy and IDF forces, a spokesperson for the German security forces in Lebanon said Friday evening.

According to the spokesperson, the latest incident occurred in the last few days, when IAF fighters approached a German naval ship patrolling the Lebanese coast. The report states that the planes were flying in an unusual manner.

In addition to the IAF flyby, the spokesperson said that on April 30 an IDF ship approached a German naval ship near the coast of Lebanon. Because the IDF ship did not announce itself, the German ship began battle procedures.

Am I the only wonder feeling uncomfortable about the German participation in UNIFIL?

I realize that WW2 ended after I was born and all the Germans who are currently participating in the UNIFIL were not alive during those years and so should harbour no guilt for Germany’s sins; but I have to say this account of German soldiers initiating battle procedures against soldiers of the Jewish state leaves a particularly sour taste in my mouth.

Perhaps I wouldn’t feel quite so squeamish - if Germany didn’t have such a long sordid documented history of persecution against the Jews which reaches all the back to the plague years of the 14th century. At that particular junction point Jews throughout the Rhineland were rounded up and boarded-in their synagogs and then set a flame. All in an effort to induce divine mercy and forgiveness for the alleged sin of allowing the “Christ-killers” to live among them, and hence, be spared further divine punishment from the Black Plague.

When I first encountered this history in Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror I could not help thinking the historical parallels to Germany’s actions in the 20th century were nothing more then logical consequences of a pathology deeply ingrained in culture. And is sixty odd years enough to wipe out and remake a culture of anti-Semitism which stood strong for six centuries?

Or then again I might feel more sanguine about the whole affair if Hezbollah weren’t actively re-arming under the very noses of UNIFIL. It becomes harder for me to perceive UNIFIL’s role as anything more than lending the appropriate cover to Hezbollah’s activities before the commencement of round two.

And really, is it so much to ask that the Germany UNIFIL contingent to pay a little more attention to Hezbollah rather than getting into pissing matches with the IDF?