Germany hosts Israel's prime minister in tense times

It was meant to be a celebratory anniversary. But German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier got unusually political, and critical, in remarks for the 50th anniversary of the founding of Israel's University of Haifa last week.

He spoke of an "escalation in hate and violence" in recent months, in light of the Israeli government's "planned restructuring of its rule of law."Steinmeier, who served twice as foreign minister in the last 20 years, noted how Germans "have always been in awe of the strengths and vibrant nature of Israel's rule of law, precisely because we know how important these strengths and this vibrancy is in the region."

Steinmeier's counterpart, Israel's President Isaac Herzog, was standing at his side. The 62-year old, whom Steinmeier called a "friend and colleague" and credited as a "smart and balancing voice in Israeli debate," has served in that role since 2021. He is one of the most high-profile checks on the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu, for which he finds himself under political pressure.

Planned justice reform

The Israeli government's planned justice reform would radically alter the country's democratic character. If implemented, it would allow the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to overrule supreme court decisions. The bill is currently making its way through the legislative process.

There has never been such open criticism of Israel by German officials. There was no state visit to Jerusalem during the presidency of Moshe Katzav, whose term that started in 2000 ended in 2007 when he resigned following accusations of sexual assault. And Germany has steered clear of weighing in on Israeli domestic politics, including its occupation of Palestinian territories.

The German-Israeli relationship is unlike other bilateral relationships, given the shadow of the Holocaust — which ended three years before Israel came into existence — that hangs over it. The two countries established formal ties in 1965, and the relationship has evolved since, most recently with a German-Israeli youth initiative founded last summer.

An early friendship

David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, was a major proponent of seeing "another Germany." He and Germany's first postwar chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, met twice — in 1960 and 1966. Their interaction always came across as warm, albeit distant. Talks between the two countries were already underway in 1952: first regarding reparations, with Israel standing in as the representative of the six million Jews whom Nazi Germany murdered, and many more Holocaust victims; more secretly, the two sides discussed German weapons deliveries to the newly established Israeli state.

Growing tensions in the region helped lead to full relations in 1965. They were met with a skeptical Israeli public, however. Germany's first ambassador to Israel was met with protests.

More recent visits to Israel

Joint ceremonies and state visits helped smooth things over. Helmut Kohl made two trips to Israel in his 16 years as chancellor. Angela Merkel, who served about as long, went eight times. One of her final trips before leaving office included Israel, in October 2021.

"That today we are bound by friendly ties is an invaluable gift — and an improbable one given our history," Merkel said in 2018.

Merkel's successor, Olaf Scholz, made his first trip in March 2022. The visit was overshadowed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began just weeks earlier. Israel has remained largely on the sidelines.

Of course, this is not Israel's first brush with far-right politics. Netanyahu has been prime minister multiple times, largely during the Merkel years. During that period, she traveled to Jerusalem less frequently. In 2017, bilateral consultations to take place in Jerusalem were postponed. They instead took place alongside celebrations for Israel's 70th anniversary, in 2018.

Two-state solution

Germany's chancellors, in particular Merkel, have never missed an opportunity to emphasize Israel's right to exist. At the same time, German officials have spoken out against Israeli occupation policy, including its expansion of settlements, which they say increases tensions and jeopardizes a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.

Merkel's address to the Knesset in 2008 was a particular high point in relations — and particularly emotional for those Israeli lawmakers with a connection to the Holocaust listening to remarks delivered in German.

"Every chancellor before me was committed to Germany's special historical responsibility for Israel's security," she said. "This historical responsibility is part of my country's raison d'etat. That means Israel's security is never negotiable for me as German chancellor."

Speaking from Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem, Scholz followed up his predecessor: "You can count on Germany always standing firmly on Israel's side."

After talks with his counterpart, then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Scholz announced an upcoming invitation to his entire cabinet for bilateral consultations in Berlin.

Relations get more difficult

From the first consultations in 2008, in Jerusalem, six more rounds took place by 2018 — split equally between Berlin and Jerusalem. Since then, however, such large-scale meetings between the two sides have become more difficult to pull off, due to the increasing extremism expressed by shaky Israeli governing coalitions.

While Scholz extended his congratulations to Netanyahu when he again became prime minister at the end of 2022 and highlighted the countries' close relationship, his government had new doubts over the far-right composition of the parties that put Netanyahu in power. In addition to the justice reform bill, Israel's new leadership has expressed interest in reviving the death penalty and expanding settlements on Palestinian territory.

The German government spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, has used news conferences to reiterate Germany's support for a two-state solution. Cabinet ministers have also joined in the criticism, calling issues at hand a matter of "safeguarding liberal democracy," as Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said during a visit to Israel. He warned of "dangers to the rule of law."

Such criticism from the German side is rare, which Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock added to when her Israeli counterpart visited Berlin.

"I will not hide the fact that we are worried from abroad," Baerbock said, adding that a strong democracy needs "an independent judiciary that can also review majority decisions."

The remarks came at a time when tens of thousands of Israelis were marching against the justice reform. Baerbock backed them by pointing out that fundamental rights are "by their very nature minority rights."

Criticism from Israel

Now, Netanyahu himself is coming to Berlin, though he announced he'd cut his trip short before even arriving in Germany. It could be a tense visit, and it might spell a new chapter in German-Israeli relations. Netanyahu is expected to bring criticism of his own, possibly in regard to an alarming rise in antisemitism in Germany. At the same time, he faces a corruption trial back home, which Israel's attorney general has called a conflict of interest while his government is pushing for judicial reforms.

The two government leaders may give a joint statement in the chancellery, exactly where Scholz and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, did in August. It was then that the de facto leader of the Palestinian people compared Israel's abuses to the Holocaust. Scholz was heavily criticized for his slow response to the comment, which he eventually called a "lapse in judgment."

This article was originally written in German.

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