For the last several decades Germany was known as Israel's
most loyal friend in Europe and perhaps in the entire West
because of its efforts to compensate Israel for the horrific
deeds of the past. Since Israel's founding Germany supported
it on the international front, supplied arms and provided
reparations to its respective governments. The two countries
had a special relationship. Israel Defense Ministry plans
regularly included significant purchases of military
equipment from the Germans; in the year 2000, for instance,
Israel imported $170 million worth of military goods from
Germany. Now all this has changed.
"Germany's status as Israel's loyal ally in Europe is
beginning to show cracks," writes Peter Finn in The
Washington Post. "Germany has secretly suspended arms
sales to Israel and top politicians use harsh language when
they criticize Israel for its military operations in the West
Bank."
As long as the European Union avoids a sweeping decision to
impose an embargo on the sale of arms to Israel, Germany has
also been avoiding the use of such a harsh word, but sales
have stopped.
The list of discontinued items includes 120 different parts,
the most important of which are tank treads for the Merkava
IV. This decision has trammeled the new model's production
line. Today Israel is waging a bona fide war on the
Palestinian front and is concerned another front could
develop in the North. The continued manufacture of the
Merkava IV is vital to defense but the Germans have refused
to cooperate, arguing that the tanks will be used against
Palestinians in the Territories.
According to Israeli sources, German Foreign Minister Joske
Fischer is behind the decision. In keeping with his pro-Arab
policies, the Foreign Ministry instructed the Finance
Ministry to stop issuing export licenses to Israel in
December.
Germany's critical stance also stems from the policies of
current Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Unlike Germany's
previous leaders he claims Germany has been freed of the
"yoke of the past" and can now establish a new foreign
policy.
Israeli government officials have tried to mitigate the
dispute. Although Israel has initiated proposals to solve the
problem, Germany has stood its ground. Meanwhile the German
media has also joined in issuing condemnations. Certain
statements made within Schroeder's Cabinet constitute a de
facto arms embargo. Often this censure resembles the kind of
remarks constantly made by Germany's neighbor to the south,
France. "The continuing invasion . . . the unwillingness to
withdraw and reports on soldiers' conduct in the Territories
are simply appalling," said Germany's Minister of Development
and Aid. German ministers and high-ranking officials are now
working to establish a Palestinian state with international
patronage.
Harsh statements against Israel have been made in the German
parliament. Coalition members as well as members of the
opposition from the right and center cast Israel as the
aggressor and the Palestinians as a suffering minority. In
one incident Israel was attacked in terms previously used to
describe Nazi activities.
In a letter which Germany's former Labor Minister wrote to
the Israeli ambassador, he accuses Israel of waging "a war of
extermination" against the Palestinians. Said Jorgen Mohlmann
of the Free Democrats, considered a leading figure in
Germany, "I would join the Palestinian fighters too," adding
that he would use force to operate in "enemy territory,"
referring to Israel itself. Hostility toward Israel has
become a general trend.
Commentators believe the aggressiveness Germany has been
displaying towards Israel originates from a deeper source.
The Germans are tired of bearing the legacy of Holocaust
atrocities, which place them in "historical shackles." They
feel their current status justifies shaking off the past and
accepting important new tasks in the international political
arena. This represents a revolution in their thinking.
Israel's ambassador to Germany believes the confrontation
with the Palestinians was merely an excuse to reveal the true
stance that has evolved among German leaders, the culmination
of a process begun when East and West Germany were united at
the end of the Cold War. Has Germany decided to shake itself
free of its historical obligations and to ally itself with
Europe's other anti-Israel -- and at times antisemitic - -
nations?
The German public also sides with the Palestinians, saying
the time has come to shatter the taboo of avoiding criticism
of Israel. In German cities tumultuous pro-Palestinian, anti-
Israel demonstrations have been held. The era of outright
German support for Israel has come to a close and Germany is
heading toward a position of international leadership like
that of France and the U.S. "Germany has not looked beyond
the borders of Europe," one of Germany's leading party
officials said recently, "but now this is about to change."
Apparently Germany's rift with Israel is part of this new
identity.
Clearly the millions of Arabs controlling most of the world's
oil resources are a good enough reason. Only Edmund
Schtauber, governor of Bavaria, said Israel has a right to
exist and a right to defend itself in order to guarantee its
citizens freedom from terrorism.
