Spying debate in Germany, compromise only solution on West Bank, and Global Activist

Ties between the U.S. and German have been tested since revelations last year that the N.S.A. had monitored the electronic data of millions of Germans, including the phone of Chancellor Angela Merkel. Now, Germany has expelled the CIA station chief suspected of espionage. In an interview with German television President Joachim Gauck said that if it turned out that the United States had been spying on Germany, “then that is really a gamble with friendship, with a close alliance.” Gregor Peter Schmitz, senior Washington correspondent for Der Spiegel joins us to discuss the state of U.S. German relations.
Then, in a recent Op-Ed for the LA Times, Israeli author Etgar Keret wrote “Peace, by definition, is compromise between sides, and in that kind of compromise, each side has to pay a genuine, heavy price, not just in territories or money but also in a true change of worldview." Keret joins us to talk about how he thinks compromise between Israelis and Palestinians might be achieved.
And, as children from Central America flood into the United States to flee crime and extreme poverty, a Chicagoan, Debra Gittler, wants to create conditions on-the-ground through literacy education, opportunity and advocacy, that she hopes will help these children thrive and keep them in their home countries. Debra moved to Central America to start ConTextos. The group says “[We do] more than just develop the mechanical skills of sounding out words. We encourage kids to think deeply, to be curious, and to question their environment.” For our Global Activism segment, Gittler tells us about her work that’s spreading across Central America.

(photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a press conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, file))