Despite the harassment, Germany witnessed dozens of demonstrations denouncing the massacres of the Israeli occupation (Reuters)
Despite what appears to be unconditional German support for Israel, which is seen as an “existential issue,” there is a change in the tone of the German government, amid strong indications of a reversal in public opinion’s position, as monitored by New York Times correspondent in Berlin, Erica Solomon.
Solomon wrote - in her report - that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was one of the first foreign leaders to visit Israel in the wake of the October 7 attack, to express his country’s support, saying - at the time - that Germany’s natural position was to support Israel.
Last January, his country joined Israel's defense team at the International Court of Justice, considering Germany a "moral authority" when it comes to protecting the Genocide Convention.
Even at the Munich Security Conference, the German Chancellor repeatedly avoided answering the question of whether he believed Israel had violated international humanitarian law.
Public opinion coup
But German public opinion now believes that what the Israeli army is doing in Gaza is unjustifiable, and it seems that the government has begun to align itself with this public opinion. Two weeks ago, Schulz visited Israel again, and his tone changed this time. He stated in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: He stands by his side: “Can the goal, whatever it is, justify the high price?”
Correspondent Solomon says that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also changed her tone of unconditional support, when she announced last week her intention to send a delegation to Israel because Germany, as a signatory to the Geneva Convention, “is obligated to remind all parties to the treaty of the necessity of respecting international humanitarian law.”
Solomon recalled statements made by Baerbock on her sixth visit to the region, in which she described Gaza as hell, and urged Israel to stop invading Rafah, saying: “People cannot simply hide in the air like this.”
She criticized her refusal to provide a humanitarian solution that would protect the displaced, to which Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded by saying, "We expect our friends to continue supporting us in these difficult times, not to weaken us in the face of the Hamas terrorist organization."
According to Solomon, the change in Berlin's position was not isolated from the development of the position of German parties wondering if the support had not exceeded the limits.
A New York Times correspondent quotes Thorsten Benner, director of the International Institute for Public Policy in Berlin, as saying that this support is no longer tolerable and that Germany, considering Israel an “existential issue,” is now offering it a blank check.
Germany's interests
Solomon wrote that Germany is trying to defend its interests around the world with policies that include, for example, supporting the conclusion of a deal between the European Union and Egypt to reduce the flow of migration on the continent, or supporting Ukraine militarily to repel the Russian invasion, but foreign policy experts believe that supporting Israel has weakened its moral credibility when criticism is directed at the regimes. She describes it as totalitarian, like Vladimir Putin's government.
Solomon says that the erosion of this credibility is especially felt in what has come to be called the Global South, where one of its most prominent leaders, Malaysian President Anwar Ibrahim, publicly rebuked the German Chancellor when he stood beside him at a press conference this month in Berlin, saying: “We oppose colonialism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and the confiscation of the lands of any country.” Whether in Ukraine or in Gaza... Where is your humanity? What is this hypocrisy?
Solomon adds that until recently, German public opinion supported his government in supporting the Israeli campaign, but opinion polls conducted by state-owned media channels show that 70% of Germans now believe that the actions of the Israeli army cannot be justified, while the percentage was 50% just a few weeks ago. .
Chancellor Schulz suffered a lot as he tried to avoid the issue even in his meetings with German voters. This week, for example, a German woman in the town of Brandenburg on the outskirts of Berlin criticized him for hypocrisy, asking how Germany could oppose the invasion of Rafah when at the same time it is one of the most important arms suppliers to Israel. .
UNRWA funding
However, the New York Times correspondent ruled out a radical reversal in Germany’s position, and cited as an example the Interior Ministry’s decision last week to include questions about Israel in the citizenship test “because of the importance of supporting Israel and its being part of our identity,” as stated in the ministry’s statement, and she expected - unless Washington takes deterrent measures Stronger against Israel - that the matter be limited to symbolic steps.
In its response to a written question from a representative about whether Germany would stop arms shipments to Israel, the government merely responded that each shipment would be studied separately.
According to Jurgen Hart, Christian Democrats' spokesman for foreign affairs in the German Parliament, the most important decision Germany can make now is to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Germany appears to be changing its position on the agency - according to Solomon - as it announced this week that it would resume its funding in the agency’s areas of operation outside the Gaza Strip, after it had demanded the dismissal of its commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, as a condition for re-injecting funds, according to German and European officials familiar with the file.
The same officials indicated flexibility in Germany's position, which no longer adheres to Lazzarini's dismissal, while German officials say they expect the funding allocated for Gaza operations to be released by the end of next May.
Source: New York Times