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German Chancellor Angela Merkel
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In praise of Merkel

German leader shows its true commitment to friendship with Israel

BERLIN – Exactly a month before Germany’s general elections, which are far from being decided, Angela Merkel will be hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin. We should not underestimate this diplomatic gesture by Merkel, who these days is fighting for another term in office.

 

The immense popularity enjoyed by the chancellor is far from reflecting the level of public support for her conservative party. It is also doubtful whether her natural coalition partners, the liberals, will be able to grant her the required majority needed to disengage from her social-democratic rivals, who shared power with her in the current term.

 

The last two election campaigns in Germany showed that the voters can surprise observers – negatively so in respect to the conservatives – at the polls. For that reason, Merkel has been engaged in a cautious and calculated struggle for each vote.

 

Her willingness to host Netanyahu under such circumstances constitutes yet another testament to her deep commitment to Israel. Netanyahu and his government are not a way to score points politically neither in Germany nor in Europe as a whole. Most Germans and Europeans like to hate Netanyahu, his government, and Likud. This is not a result of their policies or actions. Rather, it’s an automatic, traditional and instinctive hostility that rejects the Israeli Right without even trying to understand its positions. European media outlets play a crucial role in this incitement campaign.

 

This creates a situation whereby the Netanyahu government has become anathema in the eyes of many Europeans even before it started to work. The gestures it adopted towards the Palestinians since then have not resonated at all. While the Israeli Left enjoyed overwhelming European support in all the wars it conducted, the arguments of Israel’s Right in favor of a fair, reasonable and just peace are rejected out of hand in Europe.

 

The situation in Germany is no different, and Merkel therefore deserves praise for the courage she has displayed in inviting Netanyahu precisely at this time. Merkel’s critics accuse her of adopting opportunistic policies. However, her support for Israel, which was decisively expressed during her term in office, attests to consistency and deeply entrenched values.

 

Obama’s simplistic equation

As Netanyahu prepares for his first visit in Berlin as a prime minister, Merkel wants to hear that he has something to say in respect to advancing the peace process. In Berlin too, many have been captivated by the Obama administration’s simplistic equation, whereby such progress mostly hinges on the future of the settlements. Netanyahu will have to find a way to woo Merkel, as his predecessor Olmert was able to do.

 

Merkel is a clean, sharp-minded, and wise politician. When she discovers that her dialogue partner is also like that, she knows how to shift into the emotional side as well.

 

Merkel set a precedent in Israel-Germany ties by establishing the institution of “government consultations” between Berlin and Jerusalem. These consultations were meant to take place every year in order to reinforce and develop the relationship between the two countries. The first round was held in Israel about a year and a half ago. The second round was first put off because of the Israeli elections, later because of the European Parliament elections, and now because of the German elections.

 

Germany’s Foreign Ministry rushed to claim that the postponement was meant to press the Netanyahu government. However, Merkel’s office rejected this claim out of hand, explaining that the delay had to do with the busy political timetable.

 

In order to prove that the alliance between Israel and Germany is stronger than any changes in power in the two countries, Merkel and Netanyahu should now announce the date for the next government consultation round. This will silence all those who wish to undermine Germany-Israeli relations, in Berlin as well.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.27.09, 00:40
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