Roger Boyes in Berlin
Win a trip to football heaven
It must rank as one of the most extraordinary birthday presents in the annals of modern diplomacy. To mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Israel, Germany — the country that hatched and implemented the Holocaust — will today convene its weekly cabinet session not in Berlin but in Jerusalem.
Moreover, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will tomorrow become the first foreign head of government to address a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. And she will do so in German, a language that still sends shudders down the spines of camp survivors.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Foreign Minister and one of the eight Cabinet members coming to Israel, said: “This is a very special birthday for Germans, the opening of a new chapter. We are linked with this country like no other. First because of the darkest chapter in German history, the Holocaust. But also because of the miraculous development of the friendship that developed since then.”
Germany and Israel are ratcheting up their relations in a way that clearly marks out Berlin as Israel’s prime partner in Europe. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, met Ms Merkel personally at Ben Gurion airport yesterday — something he has done in the past only for President George Bush. Parliamentary statutes have been changed, at Mr Olmert’s initiative, to allow her to speak — until now only heads of state have delivered speeches to full plenary sessions. President Peres is travelling by helicopter with the Chancellor across the country. A banquet is being thrown for her in the foyer of the Knesset.
All this in a country that marched in protest when a West German Ambassador first presented his credentials in Jerusalem. Demonstrators howled down the German national anthem in 1965. And for years Israeli families would refuse to buy German products.
Now Israelis drive to work in VW Golfs or BMWs, spread Nutella on bread that pops out of a Braun toaster and fly Lufthansa.
Accompanying the Chancellor and the German Cabinet, there will be a dozen top German business executives. The joint meeting of two national Cabinets is a gesture of goodwill that began with Germany and France and that has been extended slowly to other European countries, but not to Britain and not to governments outside Europe. On the table will be proposals for joint German-Israeli development aid projects, even in countries that do not recognise Israel, new German studies institutes in Jerusalem and Haifa, a rapid increase in the numbers of exchange students, and a sharing of military know-how.
Sixty-three years after the liberation of Auschwitz, Germany has become a prime supplier of arms to Israel, including Dolphin submarines, which Arab critics say could be used as a platform for launching missiles in the eastern Mediterranean. The military co-operation has been discreet but mutually profitable: Israeli intelligence, for example, sent captured Warsaw Pact armour to West Germany to be analysed. The results aided the German development of an anti-tank system.
The mood music between Germany and Israel seems to have changed for the better under Ms Merkel. In part this is because of her background. She grew up in communist East Germany where the wartime suffering of persecuted socialists was emphasised, rather than the massive extermination of the Jews. “We learnt only late, and I say that for myself too, about how much Germany lost as a result of the Holocaust,” she said recently.
Her support for Israel is explicit — only the lightest of criticism can be expected from her Knesset speech — but is also expressed by her refusal to join the French in public reprimands about Israeli settlement policy. And she made clear long before the birthday visit that she would not visit Ramallah or hold talks with the Palestinian Authority. The focus would be on explaining to the world that the fates of the state of Israel and the German state were now inextricably linked.
In foreign policy terms, Germany calculates that this will give it more muscle in dealing with Washington, but with a Middle East conference scheduled for Berlin in June, it is stirring scepticism in the Arab world. And some politicians from her coalition partner the Social Democratic Party believe that she has leant too far out of the window in support of Israel. Rolf Mützenich, a Social Democrat foreign policy expert, said: “The Chancellor should make clear to our Israeli partners that their settlement policy violates the Annapolis agreements.”
The urge to put more passion and commitment into the German-Israeli relationship seems to come largely from the top in Germany.
An opinion poll conducted by the TNS research institute showed that 91 per cent of Germans felt their country should stay strictly neutral in its dealings with Israel.
In Israel, by contrast, some of the drive for a closer relationship seems to come from the grass roots. According to a Bertelsmann Foundation study, some 22 per cent of Israelis believed in 1990 that reconciliation with the Germans was impossible because of the Third Reich. Now only 9 per cent rule it out.
Up-to-date industry sectors news at a glance: interactive heatmap, daily video and podcast
This week: West Midlands. Which British businesses are succeeding and how?
Win the chance to visit one of France's most beautiful regions. Plus: find out about its delicious food and impressive art history
Long gone are the days of damp tents and flimsy caravans: our guide shows you everything you need to know to 'glamp' in style
Enjoy further reading from where to find the best tradesmen to the new trend for 'bleisure' travel
Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles
Europe’s largest independent Jaguar Dealer group with 23 locations across the UK.
To view our latest New Car Offers and Jaguar Approved Vehicles visit Stratstone.com.
Cabriolet 2010
£43,850
Bedford
2006
£27,950
West Yorkshire
Six Figure Package
The Gap Partnership
UK - International travel
£68,672 + travel allowance
BMJ Group
Harrogate
£68,672 + travel allowance
AQA
Harrogate
£80,000+
Kpmg
London
Breathtaking interiors, indoor golf range, manicured grounds, enclosed courtyard, stunning pool, charming carriage house & additional 3 bedroom guest house.
£6,491,752 GBP
5 beds, 4 baths, 3 receptions, kitchen/breakfast, landscaped garden & private parking.
Double Room with own Bathroom to Rent
£150pw
30% off key ready properties in Cyprus, guaranteed fast and easy finance. Prices from 89,000 Euros!
Visit Iceland with Discover the World for a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness this powerful force of nature. 3-night break from £312. Longer self-drive options available.
Sail from Southampton throughout 2010 & 2011 from just £279 pp. Book now for FREE parking or regional coach transfers!
Hand picked villas with pools with Quality Villas Ltd. Provence, St Tropez & more
For the best savings book your 2011 Celebrity Cruise
with Iglucruise.com now plus enjoy FREE parking or regional coach transfers.
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times, or place your advertisement.
Times Online Services: Dating | Jobs | Property Search | Used Cars | Holidays | Births, Marriages, Deaths | Subscriptions | E-paper
News International associated websites: Milkround | Globrix
Copyright 2010 Times Newspapers Ltd.
This service is provided on Times Newspapers' standard Terms and Conditions. Please read our Privacy Policy.To inquire about a licence to reproduce material from Times Online, The Times or The Sunday Times, click here.This website is published by a member of the News International Group. News International Limited, 1 Virginia St, London E98 1XY, is the holding company for the News International group and is registered in England No 81701. VAT number GB 243 8054 69.