A report by German magazine Der Spiegel earlier this week found that pro-Israel organizations in Germany are behind the Bundestag´s decision to define the BDS as an anti-Semitic movement.
According to an investigation published by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz on Monday, pro-Israel German organizations working with the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs worked to strengthen the passage of the law in May.
The newspaper pointed out that the investigation caused a great storm and the magazine faced harsh criticism because it showed that there are organizations that run a network of lobbies in the German parliament to strengthen the policy of the Israeli government, including encouraging members of parliament to call the government to move against the boycott movement and to condemn it as hostile Semitism, amid broad support from the ruling party and other parties.
The German decision came at the time, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Chancellor Angela Merkel to stop funding anti-Israeli organizations.
The investigation points out that there is a division within the German government on this issue, and whether the decision of the parliament will be adopted or not, amid pressure from the Israeli and pro-government organizations to do so. German sources told Haaretz that the German Interior Ministry supported the proposal, while the Foreign Ministry opposed it.
