How are German-Israeli relations a year after Hamas attacks?

The relationship between Germany and Israel relationship is unique — this was the message reiterated at an event hosted by Germany's opposition conservatives in Berlin earlier this week.

"There are no comparable relationships between any other two countries in the world," said Norbert Lammert, of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and former president of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament.

Lammert, 75, is the chairman of the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation. A few days before the anniversary of Hamas terror attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, when around 1,200 people were killed and more than 230 taken hostage, the foundation dedicated a "study day" to the unique German-Israel relationship. Participants voiced clear criticism of Germany's center-left federal government, which has been in office since 2021.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Germany, the European Union, the US and other governments.

Merkel's legacy

The murder of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust in the Nazi era is an indelible mark in German history. Germany's "special responsibility" for Israel, which became the homeland of Holocaust survivors, is summed up by German politicians as "Staatsräson" (reason of state). However, this term does not appear anywhere in the Basic Law, the German constitution.

In March 2008, Angela Merkel, who was then German chancellor and the leader of the CDU, became the first foreign head of government ever to speak in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

In her speech, Merkel emphasized that "every German government and every German chancellor before me was committed to Germany's special historical responsibility for Israel's security. That historical responsibility of Germany is part of my country's reason of state." Meaning for her, "as German chancellor, Israel's security is never negotiable."

The current coalition agreement of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and its partners, the environmentalist Greens and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), signed in 2021, states: "Israel's security is a reason of state for us." 

German politicians have been increasingly referring to "the reason of state" ever since the terror of October 7, 2023 — which shook Israel to its core. That includes Chancellor Olaf Scholz , who emphasized this statement in the Bundestag shortly after the attacks: "At this moment, there is only one place for Germany. That place is at Israel's side. That is what we mean when we say: Israel's security is the reason of state for Germany."

However, some of Berlin's political decisions in the past year have upset Israel. One example is Berlin's abstentions on UN resolutions on the Middle East.

Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, expressed his own disillusionment during the Konrad Adenauer Foundation conference on Monday. He said the phrase "reason of state" should be "about standing up for Israel," and observed that this position was waning in German politics. Schuster said the position is increasingly carrying qualifications, pointing explicitly to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from the Green Party.

Schuster has long reprimanded German politicians. During his speech to inaugurate a new synagogue in Potsdam in July, Schuster lamented the fact that the Bundestag's parliamentary groups had not yet agreed on a resolution against antisemitism and for the protection of Jewish life in this country. Baerbock was present at the inauguration but Chancellor Scholz, who was due to attend, canceled at short notice citing scheduling reasons.

Schuster said it was "shameful" that such a resolution had still not been passed, one year after the October 7 attacks. Mentioning the current social mood in Germany, he said antisemitic attacks have risen over the past year, and said recent surveys showed decreasing support for Israel among the German population. There are ever more protests, graffiti and other attacks against Jewish institutions, he said.

At the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's conference, some Jewish participants described their recent experiences. Ricarda Louk, whose daughter Shani Louk was abducted on October 7 by Hamas and later murdered, shared her thoughts about the situation in Israel, her fears and expectations for the future. However, she emphasized that what should be remembered most is the image of her daughter full of joy.

As participants entered the building to attend the conference they faced 20 pro-Palestinian protesters, some of whom had chained themselves up and were shouting abuse at the conference members, calling them "Nazis" or "murderers." The demonstrators were briefly arrested hours later.  

Among the participants entering the building was the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, who was more outspoken than ever about Germany's political course.

Prosor picked up the term "reason of state," which no other country has used in a comparable form, saying that Hamas had "set itself the goal of destroying the Jewish state as its 'reason of state'."

Prosor stressed that after the terror attacks, Scholz had reaffirmed that Germany can only stand on Israel's side, so this must be put into practice. He criticized the German course in the UN on resolutions that are critical of Israel, where Germany abstained time and again: "Our friends," Prosor declared, "this abstention is not an attitude." 

This article was originally written in German.

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