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?

Animals welcome – Gazawis not

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........

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