Germany’s decision to take in donkeys from Gaza for treatment – but not children – has sparked outrage
The news reads like a dark joke—but it isn’t. “Rescued little Donkeys from Gaza Find a Home in Oppenheim,” reports Allgemeine Zeitung, a regional newspaper in western Germany. On Instagram, the comment section on the post was quickly disabled due to “numerous inappropriate and hateful comments”– likely criticism of Germany’s decision to take in four donkeys. But what’s the broader context?
For many, the story of four donkeys “rescued” from Gaza is further proof of the inhumane cynicism of Germany’s leaders. Since October 2023, hardly any humans from Gaza have been admitted to Germany. Berlin did not prioritize rescuing Palestinian citizens with German passports from the genocide in Gaza, despite the Foreign Ministry’s stated duty to evacuate its own nationals from war and crisis zones. Meanwhile, Germany has even granted citizenship to Israelis who were taken prisoner during Gaza operations after October 2023, loudly advocating for their release as “German hostages.”
While various Western countries in recent months – Spain, for example, as early as summer 2024 – took in contingents of injured or sick children from Gaza for medical treatment, Germany has done almost nothing. Only two children from Gaza are believed to have received treatment in Germany in more than two years. Several German cities had offered to take in larger numbers of minors from Gaza and claimed to be ready to do so – but the federal government blocked these plans, citing the “very unpredictable” situation in Gaza even after the official ceasefire. The Foreign Office and Interior Ministry also referred to “complex procedures” and the need to vet accompanying family members. NGOs helping patients from abroad are required to guarantee the return of patients and their guardians; if asylum is later sought, the NGOs must cover costs for the often multi-year legal process.
Even the Allgemeine Zeitung piece exemplifies the grotesque double standard in German discourse on Gaza. The article opens: “They have endured hunger and misery, beatings and toil.” Setting aside how this framing suggests that Gazans are not only potential “Hamas terrorists” and “Jew-haters” but also animal abusers, it ignores the systematic torture of Palestinians by the Israeli army, as documented in recent reports by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) – virtually absent from German media coverage. The empathy shown for donkeys in this piece far exceeds that extended to humans in Gaza over the past two years. Unsurprisingly, the article fails to mention who is responsible for the donkeys’ hunger – or the deprivation of nearly two million Palestinians.
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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20251118-germanys-decision-to-take-in-donkeys-from-gaza-for-treatment-but-not-children-has-sparked-outrage/
@Rajk999 saidSince when do you have any empathy for Gazans?
Germany’s decision to take in donkeys from Gaza for treatment – but not children – has sparked outrage
The news reads like a dark joke—but it isn’t. “Rescued little Donkeys from Gaza Find a Home in Oppenheim,” reports Allgemeine Zeitung, a regional newspaper in western Germany. On Instagram, the comment section on the post was quickly disabled due to “numerous inappropriat ...[text shortened]... 8-germanys-decision-to-take-in-donkeys-from-gaza-for-treatment-but-not-children-has-sparked-outrage/
Or do you just hate Germans more?
Just not getting the motivation here.
