Now Trending: Hostility Toward Israel with a Clear Conscience

Wars are times of great lies and moments of truth. This also applies to German Israeli relations. All the celebra­tions and talks of Germany’s special respon­si­bility have done little to conceal the alien­ation toward the Jewish state. We live in different realities, geograph­i­cally, polit­i­cally, and mentally. It was a grotesque misun­der­standing to impose on Israel our illusions of a world in which inter­na­tional law prevails and all conflicts can be resolved through dialogue and compromise. Even Angela Merkel’s dictum that Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’état was never a real commitment. Israel always knew that that, when push comes to shove, it will be on its own. However, without reassurance from the US, things could become difficult.

Yesterday it was “solidarity with Palestine”, today it is “hands off Iran”

Since the Gaza War, the cracks in the relationship with Israel have widened into a veritable dam burst. Its trigger – the triumphant attack by Hamas, with 1,200 Israelis murdered, an endless series of genocidal atroc­ities, and 250 hostages kidnapped – is now mentioned only out of a sense of duty. What this shock means for Israel, what trauma and deter­mi­nation to defend itself it has triggered, remains misun­der­stood. In large parts of the public, Israel is the perpe­trator. Anti-Semitic attacks are rapidly increasing. There are calls for boycotts, open letters, and rallies against Israel. Yesterday it was “solidarity with Palestine,” today it is “hands off Iran.” Even in liberal middle-class circles, Israel is considered a notorious war criminal and arsonist. It is true that anti-Israel mania is not a German specialty. In other countries, it is even more intense. But we are a special case.

Across the political spectrum, there are calls to shake off historical partiality towards the Jewish state. No “forced solidarity” with Israel, as our new foreign minister called it. As if there ever was such a thing. Not a day goes by without criticism of Israel’s real or alleged human rights viola­tions in our media. Millions of newly minted inter­na­tional law experts agree in their condem­nation of Israel. The fact that Germany opposes infla­tionary condem­nation of the Jewish state by the UN is the exception rather than the rule. We are reluctant to supply weapons anyway – with the laudable exception of submarines, which are part of Israel’s nuclear life insurance policy.

Solidarity that remains mere lip service

When Israel preempted an attack by an Arab coalition led by Egyptian President Nasser (“We will drive the Jews into the sea”) in 1967, Willy Brandt declared in the Bundestag that Germany would remain strictly neutral, although this did not mean “moral indif­ference or sluggishness of the heart.” A fairly accurate description. In the ensuing Yom Kippur War (1973), Israel found itself in a desperate situation at times. Never­theless, the social-liberal German government demanded that the US stop supplying weapons via German ports and airports.

In other words, there has always been a gap between Sunday speeches and practical politics toward Israel. There has never been uncon­di­tional solidarity between states, nor can there ever be. But the current hyper­crit­icism has taken on a new quality. Explaining it solely with Israel’s excessive use of force in the Gaza Strip falls short. There is a funda­mental difference between criti­cizing Israel’s way of acting against an enemy that has sworn to destroy it and the systematic demonization of a country that still belongs to the democ­ratic world.

Yes, the elimi­natory slogans coming from Netanyahu’s extremist coalition partners are appalling. And it is unacceptable to use hunger as a weapon of war. But none of this explains the obsessive condem­nation of Israel and the ignorance of the real threat to which the Jewish state has been exposed since its founding.

“Anti-Zionism” is the cipher for hostility with a good conscience

The dam did not burst out of the blue. At univer­sities and in parts of the media, Israel has long been viewed solely through the prism of the occupation and branded a colonial state. The anti-Semitism of some immigrant commu­nities is coupled with the condem­nation of Israel by the postcolonial left. In the cultural scene, too, accusa­tions of apartheid and boycott campaigns are part of the agenda. “Anti-Zionism” is the cipher for hostility toward Israel with a good conscience.

The post-war German left saw Israel as a progressive project. The radical left-wing offshoots of the ‘68 protest movement changed the perspective. For them, Israel was an outpost of Western imperi­alism. Their solidarity lay with the various factions of the “Pales­tinian liber­ation movement” and their armed struggle against Israel. It did not remain mere words.

On November 9, 1969, the anniversary of the pogrom night of 1938, a bomb attack by the “Tupamaros West Berlin” on the Jewish community center in Fasanen­straße narrowly failed. The indirect justi­fi­cation was provided a few days later by Dieter Kunzelmann, an idol of the Berlin left-wing alter­native scene: The left should shed its “Jewish complex.” “Once we have finally learned to under­stand the fascist ideology of Zionism, we will no longer hesitate to replace our simplistic philosemitism with solidarity with Fatah.” This differs only in nuances from the new right’s call to finally abandon the “German cult of guilt.” Nothing relieves the German soul as much as declaring Israel a rogue state and accusing it of genocide.

German-Israeli estrangement must not remain

When the then Green Party leader Christian Ströbele said during the first Gulf War: “The Iraqi missile attacks are the logical, almost inevitable conse­quence of Israel’s polemics,” it was still a scandal. Today, it is common opinion that Israel is itself to blame when it is attacked and that we should therefore not lift a finger in its defense.

The fact that Friedrich Merz dared to say, “Israel does the dirty work for us,” gives hope that the German-Israeli estrangement is not irreversible. However, the reaction to this shows that a good portion of our opinion-forming elites are not prepared to climb down from their high ranks of moral superi­ority. Merz is only stating an uncom­fortable truth. Even a just war is a violent, risky enter­prise. Those who wage it to avert an existential threat, get their hands dirty. Instead of scolding Israel, we should do our utmost to support the Jewish David in his struggle against Iran and its axis of evil, in our own best interests. An Iran that has been shown its limits is easier to negotiate with.