Germany’s Israel Dilemma

Past, present and future of a complex relationship

The flags of Israel and Germany at Berlin City Hall, Nov 2023. Img: Edith Haimberger, Public Domain.

Germany and Israel have a very distinctive relationship, even more complex than people think. Yes, in large part this is due to the Holocaust and German memory politics. But it’s also shaped by Cold War history and the opposing positions East and West Germany took in the Middle East, which have left a complicated legacy that has never been clearly defined. Today, Germany’s formerly unwavering commitment is strained by the war in Gaza, which, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz put it last weekend during his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, poses “a certain dilemma for Germany.”