Opinion: Germany's zeal for Israeli genocide revives its dangerous exceptionalism
Recognition for its Zionist zeal enables Germany to rehabilitate its exceptionalism, or Sonderweg, with catastrophic consequences for Palestinians and international law.
Germany is not uniquely evil among liberal democracies in offering Israel unconditional support in killing starving Palestinians. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is no more morally bereft than British Prime Minister Keir Starmer or French President Emmanuel Macron. But Germany exalts Zionist radical evil to assert its uniqueness.
Germany remains as hungry for national identity as it has ever been, and nothing can stand in its way - least of all Palestinians, who appear in the German consciousness only when establishment forces fail to erase their existence.
Germany's pursuit of greatness has unleashed immense violence and destruction, from genocidal conquests in Africa to two world wars and the extermination of European Jews.
Its defeat and division after World War Two, and integration into Nato and the EU, seemed to put the German threat to rest.
Yet Germany has bounced back with a vengeance, thanks to economic prowess and global reordering.
While it has championed the rule of law and democracy within the EU like no other, it has not hesitated to set them aside when they conflict with its core interests - whether to impose its economic model and austerity on all member states, pursue energy policy at the expense of European partners (Nord Stream 2), or break fiscal rules it had imposed on the rest.
An advert for a German NGO offering aid in the Middle East appears next to graffiti reading "Free Gaza" at a tram stop in Berlin, 12 August 2025 (John MacDougall/AFP)
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