On Gaza, Germany's Government Faces Pressure from All Sides

New York Times

2 days ago

Germany has a unique relationship with Israel for obvious reasons. After the Holocaust, a reborn Germany has given Israel unbending support, almost alone among European nations. It is a stalwart Israeli ally, comparable even to the United States.
But the tragedy of Gaza, multiplied by reports of malnutrition and even starvation, has put Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a conservative, in an uncomfortable position. Pressures are mounting on his government to take tough action against Israel and to use Germany's influence to push for an end to the war and to Palestinian suffering.
German public opinion has tilted steeply against Israel over the last year. Mr. Merz's prime coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, are calling for halting or limiting weapons deliveries to Israel. Two of his most important European colleagues, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, are moving to recognize Palestine as a state, even before an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement​ defines that state.
​Like President Trump, Mr. Merz has ruled out such a step​, arguing that a Palestinian state must emerge from negotiations between the two parties. But Germany wants the process to start.
Mr. Merz also has pressure from his own party. Its political sibling, the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union, has been loud in demanding that Germany continue forthright support of Israel and its government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in its battle against Hamas.
So Mr. Merz is weighing more modest measures, and has tried to work behind the scenes with both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump. While publicly supportive of Israel, Mr. Merz has had several tough, even angry telephone conversations with Mr. Netanyahu, a senior German official said, urging him to come to an agreement for a cease-fire in Gaza and to allow much more food and medical aid into the enclave by road.
Mr. Merz also joined Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer in a call to Mr. Trump last Monday, urging him to put more pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to allow much more aid into Gaza, the official said, speaking anonymously, given the sensitivity of the subject.
Mr. Merz is considering backing the European Commission's call for a partial suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement, which among other things allows for cooperation in technology and culture. It would be an important shift for Germany, even if a largely symbolic gesture, and something Mr. Merz's Social Democratic coalition partners have demanded. The Commission has proposed the partial suspension of Israel's access to Horizon Europe, the European Union program that funds research. But its proposal is very narrow and would not affect most projects. Europe itself is divided on the issue, so German support for a suspension may not be sufficient to enact even this move.
Germany has provided aid for airdrops into Gaza from Jordan, and Mr. Merz last week sent his foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, to Israel and the West Bank to talk to Mr. Netanyahu and leading politicians.
'I came here with the goal of preventing a rift from opening between the European Union and Israel,' Mr. Wadephul said on Thursday in Jerusalem. 'This danger exists and both sides must work together to prevent it.'
After his report back to Berlin, the government issued a carefully balanced statement noting that there was 'initial, slight progress in providing humanitarian aid' to Gaza, but it was 'far from sufficient to alleviate the emergency situation.' Israel is obligated to provide such aid 'with the support of the United Nations,' the statement said, while also noting, 'The German government is concerned about reports that large quantities of aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organizations.'
Mr. Merz and Mr. Wadephul both expressed their horror over the weekend at the Hamas videos of emaciated Israeli hostages, demanding that they all be released as part of any cease-fire. Several of the hostages have German passports.
Last week, some 200 German cultural figures published an open letter entitled: 'Don't let Gaza die, Mr. Merz.' The letter, echoing the Social Democrats, called for a halt to all German arms exports to Israel, support for the suspension of the E.U.-Israel association agreement and an immediate cease-fire and unhindered access for aid.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany has made great strides toward a tougher foreign and defense policy, becoming 'more relaxed' about increasing its military power and exercising European leadership, said Claudia Major, a security analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. 'But Israel is not a topic where the usual standards of debate apply,' she said. 'On issues of defending Israel and antisemitism, we tend to overreact.'
After the Holocaust and the birth of a post-Nazi, democratic Germany, the promise was 'never again,' Ms. Major noted. After the Hamas invasion of Israel, she said, the slogan in Germany was, 'Never again is now.'
For Germans at the time, Ms. Major said, 'everything was clear, and we know where our place is.'
The long war and the destruction and privation in Gaza have created obvious fissures in society and in politics. But given German history, on Israel, 'we walk on egg shells,' Ms. Major said, adding, 'Whatever you do in Germany on this topic, you will be criticized.'
The discussion is not over, with more meetings of the government scheduled on the issue. Derya Türk-Nachbaur, a Social Democrat legislator, said Germany should coordinate further on the European level, especially with France and Britain, to increase pressure on Israel and allow the partial suspension of the association agreement.
Given the shift against Israel in German public opinion, 'Merz faces pressure on multiple fronts for more decisive action,' domestically, inside his own coalition and in Europe, said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin.
A poll in May, by the Bertelsmann Foundation, found that while 60 percent of Israelis have a positive or very positive opinion of Germany, only 36 percent of people in Germany view Israel positively, and 38 percent view it negatively.
This represented a notable change from the last survey in 2021, when 46 percent of Germans had a positive opinion of Israel. The poll also showed that a declining number of Germans — only a third — said that Germany has responsibility toward Israel, and only a quarter that they felt a 'special responsibility.'
There are other steps Mr. Merz might take, said Mr. Benner. He could impose sanctions on hard-right ministers in the Israeli government, as the Dutch have done or temporarily halt any weapons shipments to Israel, arguing that Israel has enough to defend itself for the moment. He could also bring more injured Gazan children to German hospitals.
Mr. Merz has argued that Israelis listen to its bedrock supporters, like the United States and Germany, while discounting the criticism of countries like Sweden, Ireland and Spain, which had earlier recognized a Palestinian state.
'He says that they do listen to us,' Mr. Benner said. 'But he needs to have something to show for it, to show that it bears fruit.'