When Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations six decades ago, protesters gathered outside the ceremony in Jerusalem waving signs demanding “a German-free Israel”.
A photograph from the stiff occasion shows ambassador Rolf Pauls extending his credentials to an unsmiling president Zalman Shazar while Golda Meir and other Israeli ministers glare at the official, fateful document.
It was just 20 years after the end of the second World War and the wounds of the Holocaust were still fresh. Later, the ambassador’s son Christian Pauls, himself a former ambassador to Ireland, remembered the occasion as “terribly intense for both sides”.
In keeping with that gloomy, intense tradition, German officials conceded on Monday that there was “no celebratory mood” in Berlin when German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier received his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Herzog.
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Amid warm words to mark six decades of bilateral relations, described by Steinmeier as a “gift”, four public protests took place. At one outside the chancellery, organised by Amnesty International, demonstrators held up signs reading: “Germany and Israel: no partnership for genocide” and “No weapons for war crimes in Gaza”.
The protests reflect international pressure building on Binyamin Netanyahu’s government to end its two-month humanitarian aid blockade on Gaza. In a joint press conference, Steinmeier urged Israel to allow aid into Gaza “not sometime – now”.
Herzog insisted Israel was meeting humanitarian law and urged the international community to study plans for a “new mechanism which will enable the distribution of aid directly to the people of Gaza” – cutting out the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“If all mediators, the USA and all those in dialogue with Hamas make it very clear – ‘open the door and leave the hostages behind’ – then the reality on the ground will change immediately,” Herzog told German state television.
The deteriorating situation in Gaza has forced new German chancellor Friedrich Merz to learn at light speed the meaning of Middle East realpolitik.
[ Tensions rising in Germany amid criticism of Israeli governmentOpens in new window ]
Merz was a staunch pro-Israeli voice in opposition but, hours after his swearing-in as chancellor last Tuesday, conceded that the Israeli approach in Gaza was a “source of great concern”. Israel had a right to defend itself, he added, but “must also remain a country that meets humanitarian obligations”.
Before a private meeting with Herzog, Merz said German-Israeli ties had, for 60 years, “been a symbol of reconciliation and the unique responsibility of our country toward Israel”.
“The existence of Israel and its security are anchored in the essence of our existence,” he added.
Preparing the ground for Merz’s visit to Israel was a priority during the inaugural weekend visit of new German foreign minister Johann Wadephul.
The 62-year-old said Berlin was “open” to US-backed proposals for a new humanitarian organisation to bring aid to Gaza. Apart from that, though, there was much continuity in his remarks. He warned the current conflict could not be “resolved permanently by military means” and doubted “whether all of Israel’s strategic goals can be achieved in this way”.
There was an echo of the previous German government, too, in his call for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages and warnings against expulsion of the two million Palestinians from Gaza or permanent Israeli occupation of Gaza.
Despite that, clear pro-Israel sentiment remains strong among the ruling CDU Bundestag party. Its foreign policy expert Jürgen Hardt argued on Monday that Berlin and other capitals “would do well to listen to Israel and, behind closed doors, form its own opinion on this situation analysis”.
Amid the subdued 60th anniversary, a mutinous mood is growing in sections of the German media. The centre-left Süddeutsche Zeitung led the way on Monday, arguing that the new Merz government found itself “at a crossroads”.
“A credible commitment to international law and its institutions cannot be reconciled,” it argued in an editorial, “with unconditional support of this government of Israel, which has right-wing extremists in its ranks who want to drive people out of their homeland”.
For some German Middle East analysts the most visible difference in Germany’s approach to Israel isn’t between the old and new administrations – but between the CDU in opposition and in office.
“As the siege of Gaza reaches new levels, Merz is now in power and responsible for everything,” said Dr Peter Lintl of Berlin’s SWP think tank. “It’s particularly difficult for Steinmeier: to express thanks for the reconciliation of the last 60 years then address the hard approach of Israel in Gaza – how to balance that?”
Before he left Berlin for Jerusalem, a visibly uncomfortable Steinmeier addressed the elephant in the corner of the German-Israeli relationship as it turns 60: an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu last year for alleged war crimes.
As opposition leader, Merz said he would, once in power, extend an invitation to the Israeli prime minister. After a week in office, the Merz invitation has dropped out of sight and Steinmeier said he hoped it stayed that way.
“I assume and hope that both sides are smart enough,” he said, “to ensure that a decision never has to be taken on whether to enforce an international arrest warrant against an Israeli prime minister in Germany.”
