Scholz travels to Israel: initial visit under time pressure

Chancellor Scholz travels to Israel for his inaugural visit. Because of the Ukraine war, the trip will be shorter than planned. The conflict will certainly also be a topic of talks with Prime Minister Bennett.

This inaugural visit is different than planned. Originally, Olaf Scholz wanted to take more time for Israel and then also travel to the Palestinian territories and Jordan. But in view of the war in Ukraine, the German Chancellor is now only visiting Israel and is not staying 24 hours. In the morning, Scholz will be the German head of government for the first time at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, the site of remembrance for six million Jews murdered by the Nazis.

From this, the commitment to the security of the Jewish state also grows for the new federal government. Under Angela Merkel’s leadership, Germany was seen as a close and reliable partner in Israel, and there is no real doubt that this is about to change.

However, positions could change on detailed questions, says Peter Lintl, Israel expert at the German Science and Politics Foundation. “Basically, the impression is correct that the German-Israeli relationship will remain stable and good.” But he thinks that “the new German government – not just the chancellor but also the foreign minister in particular – will place greater emphasis on human rights and international law issues. We’ve already seen that.”

Russia’s military presence in Syria

However, Israel’s occupation policy and settlement building in the Palestinian territories will probably not play a major role in the chancellor’s visit. The war in Ukraine is expected to take up a lot of space when Scholz meets Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Jair Lapid. Israel initially avoided taking a position in the conflict for a long time before condemning the Russian attack. The background is the military presence of Russia in Syria. Israel regularly flies air strikes in the neighboring country to curb the influence of Iran and its allies there.

The government in Jerusalem does not want to upset Moscow, summarizes SWP expert Lintl. “On the one hand, everyone can see that Russia is the aggressor here. Nonetheless, Israel finds it very difficult to condemn Russia, because of course the Russians dominate and control the airspace in Syria.” Israel is partly dependent on Israeli-Russian cooperation in Syria in order to eliminate possible threats there. “That’s why Israel is wriggling a bit with a positioning,” says Lintl.

Israel as mediator?

This also explains the reluctance of the Bennett government after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj brought Israel into play as a possible mediator. It would be an unusual role for Israel, believes expert Lintl:

nuclear deal with Iran

SWP expert Lintl is certain that the Israeli side will also discuss a possible renewal of the nuclear agreement with Iran at the meetings with Scholz. “There is no doubt that the Israelis will talk to Olaf Scholz about Iran, about the new agreement that may be concluded and the criticism they will have of it: that it is not comprehensive enough, that it could bring Iran closer to a nuclear bomb and so on.” Scholz will defend the agreement. That will certainly be the top issue from the Israeli side.

At noon, Scholz and Bennett will take stock of the talks at a joint press conference, and the Chancellor will return in the afternoon.