Wolf Biermann sharply criticizes the Israeli government

Songwriter Wolf Biermann addresses the Israeli government with sharp criticism on the occasion of the publication of his diaries.

“What they are now doing in Israel in the Gaza Strip is of course not genocide, but it is a war crime. No ifs or buts! This hurts many people in the world. But for me it’s double and triple,” Biermann told the German Press Agency in an interview. Biermann has Jewish roots. His family was murdered in the Holocaust.

Sharp criticism of Netanyahu

“The worst and most dangerous anti-Semites” live “in Israel at the moment,” said Biermann, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. They are in the process of “transforming the country into a reactionary, brutal oppressive state.” His hope for a democratic, humane Israel is gone. Referring to Goethe, Biermann spoke of “lemurs” in Israel. In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's “Faust II,” lemurs are spirits of the dead who serve the devil.

Biermann will present excerpts from his diary entries at the Frankfurt Book Fair on October 7th under the title “You put out the fire with gasoline”. In it he focuses primarily on his time in the GDR and after his expatriation until the fall of the Wall in 1989. Biermann will be 90 years old on November 15th. November 16th marks the 50th anniversary of his expatriation from the GDR.

Books, albums and a documentary

On this occasion, not only the diaries are being published, but also a volume of poetry and a newly published children's book. Biermann also releases two new music albums and goes on tour. The biographical documentary “Biermann” by director Jens Meurer also premieres on October 29th.