Despite contradictions, Germany proves its accountability to Israel

Seemingly contradictory reports have appeared in the media regarding diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany. Conveniently for Israel, the timing for such reports a couple of weeks prior to the Palestinian commemoration of the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe) provides space for the usual equation of selective historical remembrance as dictated by both the settler-colonial state and the international community.

At the end of April, Der Spiegel published a feature in which alleged rifts between Germany and Israel were discussed. Quoting several German political figures as well as analysts, the article pointed out Germany’s “concerns” about the unsustainable colonial policies promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reported to have said, “I understand why President [Mahmoud] Abbas continually seeks out the Security Council.” The statement ties in with the Israeli expansionist agenda which, according to Germany, is the main impediment to the two-state paradigm. According to Der Spiegel, the German foreign ministry is focusing “on possible alternatives to the founding of a Palestinian state” given the Israeli government’s refusal to curb colonial expansion.

On 1 May, the Times of Israel published a report in which an unnamed official in Berlin denied a shift in Germany’s support for Israel. With reference to the Der Spiegel article, the official declared that, “The guidelines of German Middle East Policy have not changed.” According to the same official, the aim of the article was “most likely a German attempt to bash Merkel over her close relationship with Netanyahu.”

Meanwhile, YNet news availed itself of the opportunity to elaborate upon the military cooperation between Israel and Germany, with reminders of the historical security relationships since the 1950s and its evolution until the present day. It was careful to omit any mention of Germany’s complicity in providing Israel with military capabilities during Operation Protective Edge in summer2014.

During a visit to Israel by the Inspector of the German Air Force in mid-April, Holocaust remembrance as well as the lauding of military and security cooperation between Israel and Germany provided the foundations for official rhetoric about “striding toward new horizons together”; this was reported on the Israeli Air Force (IAF) website. The IAF Commander, Major General Amir Eshel, was also honoured at the German Embassy in Israel by Ambassador Dr Clemens von Goetze. During the ceremony, Eshel stated: “The nations’ past is tangibly present in the cooperation between the forces and the people. We will not forget the Holocaust and look together towards a better future. The German support of Israel strengthens our security.”

Meanwhile, Merkel’s comment regarding Abbas’s efforts at the UN Security Council provided the only affirmation that can be gleaned from the selection of reports of a sustained German interest in furthering the colonisation of Palestine, whether such efforts include feigned sympathy for Abbas or cooperating with Israel in military and security coordination. The issue is not the two-state or an equally distorted alternative that does not include decolonisation, but rather how such manipulative relations are sustaining rhetoric of a two-state conspiracy when the first part of the term – “two” – has been rendered obsolete. The conspiracy, however, remains intact, hence the opportunities to squander Palestinian memory, territory and lives continue to present themselves within a corrupted circle of intentionally mismanaged statements ostensibly under the auspices of international law.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.