John Meister, at The Blogs

John Meister

Stand for Jewish life. Fight antisemitism.

Nov 8, 2026, 2:04 PM

America may be ready for a Jewish president. Is the Democratic Party?

Victorious Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., during an election night event, November 3, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Jon Ossoff's political rise raises a question that reaches far beyond his own ambitions. Anti-Zionism is gaining ground within the Democratic Party, while antisemitism casts a dark shadow over Jewish life across America. In this climate, can a Jewish...

Oct 7, 2026, 2:35 AM

No Disclaimers. No Retreat. Proudly Zionist.

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin lights up with the Israeli flag in solidarity after a multi-front Hamas attack, October 7, 2023. (Press and Information Office of the Federal Government)

For years, many European Jews followed an unwritten rule: keep your head down, practice Jewish life quietly, and leave Israel out of polite conversation. The thinking was simple. If we kept our Zionism discreet, we could avoid conflict. We could...

Aug 22, 2026, 9:29 PM

Jewish life and antisemitism in Athens

Aron Kodesh at Etz Chaim Synagogue (Photo: By the author John Meister)

On a quiet corner in the Thiseio district of Athens, two historic buildings stand directly across from each other. Together, they tell the extraordinary story of Greek Jewry. On one side is Beth Shalom, the neoclassical, marble-clad Sephardic synagogue....

Jul 11, 2026, 1:26 PM

Germany is finally confronting the public denial of Israel’s right to exist

The German Bundesrat. (Photo courtesy of Bundesrat Press Office)

Germany has tolerated a legal loophole for far too long, one that antisemites have repeatedly exploited. But on July 10, 2026, the Bundesrat, the upper house representing Germany's sixteen state governments, finally moved to resolve it. The Bundesrat backed a...

Jun 14, 2026, 5:09 PM

The double game of Kaja Kallas

Kaja Kallas in Ramallah on March 24, 2025. (Thaer Ghanaim / PPO / AFP)

Well, here we have a classic case of diplomatic betrayal. Behind closed doors, away from the cameras and the public eye, Europe’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas has revealed her true colors. According to leaked reports, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja...

May 13, 2026, 9:27 PM

An anti-Israel camp at a Holocaust deportation site is a disgrace

The Square of the Jewish Deportees in Hamburg

Right across from the Dammtor train station in the center of Hamburg in Germany, the Moorweide park is currently occupied by an anti-Israel camp calling itself "Bridges of Resistance". Inside this camp, rhetoric is used that questions Israel's right...

Apr 15, 2026, 8:05 PM

The Fall of Orbán: What comes next?

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after a press statement at the Carmelite Monastery in the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary, April 3, 2025. (AP/Denes Erdos)

The parliamentary elections in Hungary on April 12, 2026, have done more than just end sixteen years of illiberal rule; they have dismantled a political structure that was as unique as it was unsettling within the European Union. As...

Mar 4, 2026, 8:33 PM

The joint US-Israeli offensive is a vital defense of the free world

International law has been hijacked. It was originally designed to establish the rules of civilized warfare and protect the innocent. Today, it is routinely invoked to do the exact opposite: to shield dictators, terrorists, and apocalyptic regimes from the...

Feb 21, 2026, 7:34 PM

Deepening military ties between IDF and Bundeswehr

For the first time, the IDF Ground Forces and the German Army have signed a formal cooperation agreement. It's a move that marks a new chapter in the strategic military partnership between Israel and Germany. During a recent visit to...

Feb 1, 2026, 2:01 PM

78% of EU classrooms are failing to protect Jewish students

Illustrative: A classroom in a primary school in Germany. (Wikipedia/Martin Kraft/CC BY-SA 3.0)

According to a UNESCO survey released this week, the vast majority of teachers in the European Union have encountered antisemitic incidents in their classrooms. These findings validate a long-standing reality. It confirms that the classroom, meant to protect and...

About Me

Dr. John Meister is a political scientist and lecturer at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg) in Hamburg, Germany. He serves on the board of the German-Israeli Society in Hamburg. As a member of the Jewish Community of Hamburg, he is actively engaged in the executive committee of its Reform Synagogue.

Contact Me