German lawmakers skeptical over sending forces to aid Israel

At the end of July, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who belongs to the center-left Social Democrats, visited Hawaii where two German warships, including the Baden-Württemberg frigate, were participating in the US-led naval Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercise. 

Despite the distance, Pistorius could not ignore the escalation between Israel, Hamas and Iran. With regard to a potential Iranian attack on Israel, Pistorius told DW correspondent Michaela Küfner that "we don't need that. We don't want that." 

"It needs to be prevented because nobody can wish or can even imagine the further escalation of the region," he said. "We have to do everything to get peace back in that region as soon as possible."

CDU lawmaker says government should 'wake up'

Back in Germany, meanwhile, there has long been an ongoing debate as to whether the country's armed forces, the Bundeswehr, should be deployed to protect Israel should Iran attack. Germany already supplies weapons to Israel and supports the government in many other areas, but the idea of deploying German troops has always been inconceivable. No Israeli government has ever issued such a request either.

Yet German lawmaker Roderich Kiesewetter, security spokesperson for the center-right Christian Democrats, recently told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the German government should "finally wake up" to the escalating situation. He said it would be conceivable to have German forces help refuel fighter jets from allied nations, and also for Eurofighter aircraft to be deployed to fend off Iranian drones. But he made clear that German forces should not attack targets within Iran.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany holds a similar view. Its president, Josef Schuster, told news group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that "Germany's historical responsibility for Israel's security is not legally binding, but from my point of view this, of course, means that in the event of an attack of the magnitude currently looming, Germany will also stand with the Jewish state militarily."

Germany's 'reason of state'

By "Germany's historical responsibility for Israel's security" after the Holocaust, the murder of millions of European Jews during World War II, the concept of "Staatsräson," or "reason of state" is meant. 

This is often understood as being Germany's voluntary commitment to take responsibility for Israel's security and existence. Though the "reason of state" is not enshrined in law, the maxim has been constantly repeated by the current and previous government. 

The latest escalation in the Middle East was triggered by the deadly attack on the Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of  Hamas, while visiting Tehran. Hamas is a militant, Islamist group that the European Union, the US, Germany and others classify as a terrorist organization. 

Israel has not requested Bundeswehr support

So does Germany's "reason of state" also mean deploying German soldiers to protect Israel in the event of an attack?

No other German politician seems willing to go as far as Kiesewetter, neither from the opposition, and certainly not from the government. Johann Wadephul, deputy chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, gave an evasive answer to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland when he said that "as far as we know, scenarios such as military support are not on the agenda. A parliamentary mandate would be required for this anyway."

Marcus Faber from the neoliberal Liberal Democrats, who chairs the parliamentary defense committee, gave a similarly technical answer. "Israel has clearly communicated how we can help," he said. "We should do this, for example by quickly approving arms exports. The Bundeswehr has not been requested in Israel and could do little to help."

Bundeswehr fighting IS in Iraq, Jordan

The Bundeswehr would barely be in a position to help Israel. Like Kiesewetter, however, FDP foreign policy expert Ulrich Lechte believes it would be possible for the German army to help refuel fighter jets of allied states. And for the Greens, who are also in the ruling coalition, lawmaker Sergey Lagodinsky pointed out to the Berlin-based daily Tagesspiegel that the Bundeswehr was already present in the Middle East given the military operation against the extremist Islamic State (IS) group.

"Since 2015, the Bundeswehr has deployed up to 500 soldiers in Iraq and Jordan to refuel US aircraft for example," he said.

The German government remained largely silent on the issue at Wednesday's routine press conference in Berlin. Arne Collatz, spokesman for the German Defense Ministry, told reporters "that is not a question that has been asked at the moment. This is not a topic of debate for the Bundeswehr. And we know what needs to be done politically before the question is even put to the Bundeswehr."

In other words, a deployment of German troops alongside Israel would have to be approved by a parliamentary majority in the Bundestag, and this majority does not currently exist.

This article was originally written in German.