“Spying among friends is never acceptable,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a press conference today, referring to information obtained by the German government that suggests the U.S. may have monitored Merkel’s mobile phone.
“There needs to be trust between the U.S. and European nations,” Merkel added, reiterating her extreme disapproval of the NSA’s widespread spying tactics, which she’s been voicing since earlier this summer.
In response to the allegations, which surfaced this week, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. “is not monitoring and will not monitor” Merkel’s communication. Merkel, who according to a spokesperson “unequivocally disapproves of such practices and sees them as completely unacceptable,” called President Obama directly yesterday (insert “but he’s already listening” joke here) to get some answers. The White House, it seems, is sticking by their story that they are not currently and will not be monitoring Merkel in the future.
Here’s the press conference, in which the usually no-nonsense Merkel appears visibly upset:
Stephanie Butnick is the founder of GOLDA, a Jewish lifestyle newsletter. She hosted the Tablet podcast Unorthodox, co-authored The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia: From Abraham to Zabar’s and Everything in Between, and worked as a writer and editor at Tablet.
