Status: 09.10.2021 4:11 a.m.
Merkel’s last trip to Israel as Chancellor is said to be a working visit. The fact that she also used her relationship with Israel to criticize has not harmed her popularity in the country: Many see in Merkel what they lack in their own government.
“Thank you for speaking here.” On March 18, 2008, Angela Merkel turned to the members of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. You feel this opportunity as a great honor, said the Chancellor. In Hebrew.
This honor has not been bestowed on any German head of government before. Merkel called the mass murder of six million Jews perpetrated by Germans an unprecedented breach of civilization, and she recalled Germany’s responsibility – also for Israel’s security: “Germany’s historic obligation is part of the raison d’être of my country. That is, Israel’s security is never negotiable for me as the German Chancellor. “
In Germany, it is primarily this statement that is remembered from the Knesset speech in 2008: Israel’s security as a German reason of state. During Merkel’s reign, this principle became clear through the delivery of more German submarines to Israel.
Skilled negotiator and clear critic
In Israel, Merkel’s speech is seen primarily as evidence of the close partnership between the two countries, recalls Dani Kranz, professor of anthropology at Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, southern Israel. “The speech in the Knesset definitely moved something. But you shouldn’t overestimate the effect of politics alone, because a society is always more than politics,” she says. But Germany is now perceived differently in Israel – “above all through a lot more travel activities.”
German-Israeli relations have become more intensive and diverse in recent years, also apart from politics. Political differences still exist – especially with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Merkel has repeatedly underlined Germany’s support for the so-called two-state solution and also criticized the Israeli settlement policy in the Palestinian territories.
She clearly expressed such differences and also criticized them, says Kranz – “but she did it so skillfully that it could be negotiated. So, I think she handled this very complex relationship very, very well.”
Stability that many Israelis miss
Merkel’s seventh and final trip to Israel as Chancellor is officially a working visit: the focus is on political meetings with representatives of the new Israeli government. The visit to the awarding of an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa to the Chancellor could be a little more personal.
Merkel is very popular in Israel. It stands for political stability – and thus for something that many Israelis would want more from their own political class. Many Tel Aviv residents have positive memories of the German Chancellor: she is a “very impressive, very strong woman” who is able to make difficult decisions – and Israel and Germany can learn from each other, they say.
Political developments in Germany after the general election are being closely followed in Israel. The Israelis are not very concerned that relations between the two countries could deteriorate.