Since 2011, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria’s civil war have settled in Germany, a country that prides itself on its success in overcoming its historic legacy of anti-Semitism. But they have brought with them an anti-Semitism of their own, the product of many decades of government indoctrination. Rawan Osman, himself a Damascus native who now resides in Strasbourg, writes:

Two weeks ago, then-Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein refused to hold a vote for his replacement, insisting that, in keeping with precedent, the new speaker should only be chosen after a governing coalition has been formed. As his move prevented the newly installed Israeli parliament from resuming its normal business, the Supreme Court tried to break the impasse with two unprecedented interventions into the legislative branch. To Evelyn Gordon, Edelstein acted out of a “genuine and serious concern” about constitutionally questionable moves by his opponents, even if the court was justified in its order that elections for the new speaker take place.