John Rosenthal writes on European politics and transatlantic relations. His work has appeared in English, French and German in publications such as Policy Review, The Claremont Review of Books, The New York Sun, Les Temps Modernes, Le Figaro and Merkur.
Rosenthal holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the New School for Social Research in New York and has taught political philosophy and the history of European philosophy at schools in both the United States and Europe.
It is indicative of the general tenor of the discussion of the
Iraq War in Germany that while sharing information with American
military intelligence would be regarded as scandalous, the admission of
friendly contacts with Saddam Hussein's infamous Mukhabarat is the
subject of no controversy whatsoever.
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When war breaks out, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy is decidedly in his element. Thus, when war began between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia last month, BHL packed his bags and set off to Tbilisi. But Lévy's account of Russian burning and pillaging in the Georgian city of Gori is now being called into question. So should his particular brand of war reporting, which tends to cast him in the role of the champion of a cause, even when such a partisan spirit serves to obscure unpleasant truths about war.
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Why is a Jewish group co-sponsoring an American Embassy commemoration of 9/11 in Berlin?
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When does "criticism of Israel" cross the line into anti-Semitism and should it be up to the courts to decide? A legal dispute pitting Evelyn Hecht-Galinksi, daughter of one of the symbolic figures of Germany's post-war Jewish community, and political commentator Henryk Broder shines an uncomfortable light on issues of both anti-Semitism and freedom of speech in contemporary Germany. A Cologne court is set to decide next week whether Broder can describe Hecht-Galinski as an "anti-Zionist anti-Semite." more
The participation of the American basketball player Chris Kaman in the Beijing Olympics as a member of the German basketball squad has caused some eyebrows to be raised. But the story of Kaman's blitz naturalization is not only one of a basketball mercenary in search of a chance for glory at the Olympics or of the German national team's desperation to find a usable center. It also reveals abiding peculiarities in the German conception of nationality that are little known outside of Germany and even less understood. more
The excitement of Barack Obama's speech in Berlin is now passed. What remains are some serious questions: notably, for German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. The two leading Social Democrats -- both touted as possible candidates for the chancellorship in the 2009 German elections -- were also the two politicians most closely associated with the push to have the American presidential candidate give a high-profile public speech in the German capital. more
More on the possibly exaggerated estimate of Barack Obama's crowd in Berlin.
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Did Obama's team successfully spin the turnout numbers at his Berlin speech?
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Two suspects in brutal anti-Semitic attacks in Paris who were previously identified as "youngsters" -- one now identified as a member of the French air force -- are not so young after all. more
Over the last year, the French government made efforts to obtain the release of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. But how much did the French government's efforts ultimately contribute to the liberation of Betancourt? And what have been the effects of French diplomacy upon the conflict opposing the Colombian government and the FARC? John Rosenthal spoke with Daniel Pécaut, one of France's leading authorities on Colombian politics.
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PARIS -- After a 17-year-old Jewish boy wearing a yarmulke was brutally beaten by a gang of teenagers in Paris's 19th arrondissement late last month, the reactions of both the French news media and French authorities were notably ambiguous. For the Paris District Attorney's office and certain Parisian editorial boards, it would seem that when anti-Semitic incidents occur in a series, this is supposed somehow to vitiate their anti-Semitic character. more
PARIS -- "Nicolas Sarkozy: A Demanding Friend of Israel" Thus ran the headline on Tuesday's edition of the French daily Le Figaro, a day after Nicolas Sarkozy became the first French president to address the Israeli Knesset since François Mitterrand in 1982. In his speech, Sarkozy himself insisted that he was a friend of Israel -- even a "dear and steadfast" friend -- and the tone was indeed friendly. But the next day in an appearance with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Sarkozy's tone was significantly different. more
Twenty-six Americans are presently being tried in absentia in Italy for the 2003 abduction of the Egyptian cleric known as "Abu Omar." The American press has frequently cited the testimony of Nasr's wife, who claimed that her husband was tortured by the Egyptian authorities to whom the Americans allegedly "rendered" Omar. But an Italian investigation of Abu Omar has been largely ignored in press accounts. Here WPR publishes extracts from the transcripts of Abu Omar surveillance tapes for the first time in English. more
When it emerged in mid-March that the perpetrator of a deadly
suicide attack on American troops in Afghanistan had come from Germany,
the American media showed remarkably little interest. The German media on the other hand maintained hopeful expressions of doubt until the evidence of the bomber's German origins became undeniable. In the meantime, what has emerged about the biography of the bomber, Cüneyt Ciftci, highlights Germany's continuing status as a hotbed of Islamist extremism.
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A German government proposal to grant Iraqi Christians
asylum in Germany as a persecuted minority drew criticism last week
from the chair of the Bundestag's Human Rights Committee,
Herta Däubler-Gmelin. The involvement of Däubler-Gmelin, who in September 2002 famously compared George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler, suggests the potential in Germany for the refugee issue to be
hijacked by political agendas that have more to do with grudges against the U.S. than with humanitarian concern.
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The Nabucco pipeline project to carry Iranian gas to Europe has long been central to EU thinking on reducing European energy dependence upon Russia. But public perception of U.S. policy toward Nabucco has recently experienced a sea change: the project has begun being touted as "U.S.-backed." Indeed, some State Department officials have begun expressing vigorous support for the project in seeming contradiction of express U.S. government policy of attempting to isolate Iran economically. more
Sky-high tax rates in Germany have contributed to tax evasion, which is now getting international attention thanks to some high profile cases.
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Despite press reports to the contrary, there are several EU states that have made clear that they will defer any decision on recognition. more
In this week's Transatlantic Intelligencer: As French municipal elections approach, a look at the surprising support for the French right in the country's banlieues; and a German newspaper examines what happened to residents of one Polish town in 1942 to make way for "ethnic Germans," including the parents of the current German president. Transatlantic Intelligencer is written by World Politics Review Translations Editor John Rosenthal and appears every week.
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What happened to residents of one Polish town in 1942 to make way for "ethnic Germans," including the parents of the current German president.
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