Anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to and/or fear of, hatred of, dislike of, persecution of, prejudice against, and discrimination against Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, and/or its language.[1] Its opposite is Germanophilia.[2][3]
"Germanophobia" redirects here. Not to be confused with Germophobia.In Israel[edit]
In the 21st century, the long debate about whether the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra should play the works of Richard Wagner is mostly considered a remnant of the past. In March 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the first foreign head of government invited to deliver a speech in the Israeli parliament, which she gave in German. Several members of parliament left in protest during the speech and claimed the need to create a collective memory that "will create a kind of electric wave when Jews will hear the sounds of the German language, they'll remember the Holocaust."[131]
In an October 2008 interview, the researcher Hanan Bar (חנן בר) summed up the ambiguous Israeli attitude to Germany: "If the average Israeli happens to see a football match between Germany and Holland [sic], he would automatically root for the Dutch. But the same person, when buying a washing machine, would prefer a German model, considering it to be the best."[132]