Jamal Karsli, the controversial Syrian-born German politician, is visiting Israel. Karsli, a central figure in the recent anti-Semitism affair involving Juergen Moellemann, was forced out of the Green Party after he said the Israeli army was using "Nazi-like" tactics against the Palestinians, and who speaks of conspiracies by the "powerful Zionist lobby". Karsli is now in Israel, meeting with Arab and Jewish peace activists. He also plans to meet with Palestinians, including Yasser Arafat.

I never heard exactly which tactics of the Israeli army Karsli considers "Nazi-like". There have not been any credible reports accusing Israeli soldiers of, say, raping Arab women or rendering Palestinian schoolchildren into soap. So perhaps he was referring to the fact that some Israeli soldiers wear underpants and carry guns, which -- you have to admit -- some Nazis also did.

Carrying the Nazi comparison to its logical conclusion: I am forced to admit that Karsli's visit to Israel is like the time when Golda Meir made a public visit to Berlin in 1943 to meet with Charles de Gaulle and Jewish members of the Reichstag.

(thanks to David Melle for the tip)

UPDATE (8/1): A woman of my acquaintance (and a graduate of Princeton University, no less!) remarked that she didn't get the reference to Golda Meir's visit to Berlin in 1943. If the irony was lost on her, it might have been lost on other readers. Of course, there were no Jewish members in the Nazi Reichstag, and neither Charles de Gaulle nor Golda Meir would have been allowed in Berlin in 1943. My point was that equating Israel with Nazis is ridiculous. (Especially when Karsli comes to Israel to meet with Yassir Arafat and Arab members of the Knesset). It is as ridiculous as believing that Golda Meir could have met Charles deGaulle in Berlin in 1943.