Steinmeier in Israel: a farewell and a new beginning


Status: 06/30/2021 1:35 p.m.

A close friend, Federal President Steinmeier, is visiting Israel. But there are also some conflict issues in German-Israeli relations.

From Martin Polansky,
ARD capital studio

It is a late state visit. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier actually wanted to travel to Israel last year – for the 55th anniversary of our mutual diplomatic relations. But the pandemic got in the way.

The Vice President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany sees the fact that Steinmeier is driving now as a clear sign of the solidarity between Israel and Germany. And Abraham Lehrer emphasizes: “Federal President Steinmeier has a particularly close personal relationship with the outgoing President Reuven Rivlin.”

The delay in the visit is now proving to be good timing. Steinmeier wants to personally say goodbye to President Rivlin, whom he has often met and whose term of office ends on July 7th. Rivlin gives his last state banquet for the guest from Germany.

Steinmeier has a close friendship with Reuven Rivlin.

Image: REUTERS

Steinmeier also speaks to the new government

The Federal President will also meet Rivlin’s successor, Itzhak Herzog. Steinmeier will also have the opportunity to be one of the first foreign guests to meet the top representatives of the new Israeli government – Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. You have just replaced long-term Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a very broad party alliance.

The foreign policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group Jürgen Hardt considers Steinmeier’s visit to be an excellent opportunity to talk to the new government.

“I believe that Germany also worked well and trustingly with the Netanyahu government,” said Hardt ARD capital studio. Federal President Steinmeier should, on behalf of Germany, make the Bennett / Lapid government an offer to continue this.

Controversial issues of settlement policy and Iran

“With the Netanyahu government, we also had a number of critical points, for example in settlement policy,” says Hardt. In his view, Israel should be encouraged not to obstruct a peace solution with the Palestinians by taking unilateral steps in settlement policy. And: “Germany should give Israel massive support in developing partnerships with countries in the Arab world.” Israel has already established diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

According to the chairman of the German-Israeli parliamentary group, Alexander Lambsdorff from the FDP, Israeli relations with the EU have not been particularly good overall in recent years. That could change with the new Israeli government:

“I believe that a new government – and it has already declared that – wants to improve relations with Europe again. And I believe that this is where the opportunity lies,” says Lambsdorff. If Israeli-European relations improved again without Netanyahu, there would also be a greater chance that European positions in the Middle East would again receive more attention.

Lambsdorff mentions, for example, the nuclear deal with Iran, for which Germany and Europe have campaigned. “Israel has taken a different position so far.”

Submarines to Israel?

Conversely, Lambsdorff and CDU foreign politician Hardt emphasize that Germany should stick to armaments cooperation with Israel. Chancellor Angela Merkel described Israel’s security as part of Germany’s raison d’etat before the Knesset in 2008. This includes that Israel must be able to defend itself.

For example, Germany supplies submarines to the Israeli Navy. In parts of the SPD and the Greens, arms deliveries to Israel are viewed critically, as the Middle East is a conflict region. The Chancellor candidates Olaf Scholz and Annalena Baerbock recently announced that they want to continue the security cooperation with Israel.

Anti-Semitic attacks in Germany

The relationship between the two countries is repeatedly strained by anti-Semitic riots and attacks in Germany – for example by right-wing extremists, conspiracy storytellers or radical Muslims. When the situation in Israel escalated just over a month ago and Hamas took Israeli cities under constant rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel flags were burned and synagogues were attacked in Germany, mostly in the context of pro-Palestinian protests.

In a current hour in the Bundestag, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in mid-May that anti-Semitic hate preachers, agitators and violent criminals must be countered with all the harshness of the German constitutional state. “It doesn’t matter whether you have always lived here or have only come here in the last few years,” emphasized the SPD politician.

Steinmeier also strongly condemned the recent anti-Jewish riots in Germany. “We do not tolerate anti-Semitism – regardless of who – in our country,” he emphasized.

Steinmeier’s relations with Israel have always been of particular concern. This is also evidenced by his close friendship with President Rivlin. At his invitation, he was the first Federal President to speak at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.

Steinmeier travels to Israel, warns pol. Conflict resolution

Tim Assmann, ARD Tel Aviv, June 30th, 2021 2:44 p.m.



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