海角大神

With German-Israeli relations unusually tense, Chancellor Angela Merkel is scrambling today in an apparent effort to assure Israel that the two are still friends as usual.

When Germany abstained in last week鈥檚 vote to change the Palestinian Authority's status at the United Nations to a non-member observer state, rather than vote聽against it, Israel took it poorly.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained about Germany鈥檚 鈥渓ack of consistency鈥� toward the聽Middle East peace process and attacked Chancellor Merkel personally: 鈥淚 am聽disappointed in her,鈥� he told German newspaper Die Welt before he went聽to meet the chancellor for dinner on Wednesday.

鈥淚srael鈥檚 security is part of聽Germany鈥檚 raison d鈥檈tre,鈥� said Merkel today.聽

Taking responsibility for the Holocaust has turned聽Germany into one of the strongest allies of the Jewish state, next to聽the United States.

But the German public seems to be saying it is not so sure it wants to support Israel as unconditionally as it has in the past.聽Any criticism, perceived or intended, from Germany is a big deal, as Berlin has solidly backed Israel in recent decades, leaving observers wondering if that support is changing now.

Even聽though it is not officially confirmed, Germany鈥檚 UN vote is widely聽seen here as a reaction to Israel鈥檚 latest settlement announcement,聽which the Germans got wind of early.

鈥淚srael has undermined the聽trust in its willingness to negotiate,鈥� government spokesman Steffen聽Seibert said of the settlement plans, adding that they led to the聽鈥渇urther shrinking of the geographical space for a future Palestinian聽state which has to be the basic requirement for a two state solution.鈥�

Emerging from the German-Israeli government consultations聽today, a regular meeting of both cabinets, Merkel and Netanyahu were keen to stress the good state聽of relationships at all levels between the two countries.

鈥淭hank you,聽Angela, for the warm welcome,鈥� said Netanyahu.

鈥淲hat a pleasure it is聽that we can communicate in this way today, given our history,鈥� said聽Merkel. And the settlement issue? Quickly dealt with for reporters: 鈥淲e agreed to聽disagree.鈥�

'Surprised and hurt'

Germany is not only one of Israel鈥檚 most important聽trade partners, it also provides arms and military equipment at very聽generous terms, such as submarines specifically developed for the聽Israeli Navy and capable of launching missiles with nuclear warheads.

鈥淚srael has got used to unconditional support from Germany,鈥� says Avi聽Primor, Israeli ambassador to Germany between 1993 and 1999. 鈥淪o it聽was surprised and hurt by the official criticism.鈥�

But the chemistry between Merkel and Netanyahu has deteriorated聽over the past months, according to Mr.聽Primor, and Merkel needs to聽reconsider her support for Israel against a backdrop of critical German public opinion聽toward Israel鈥檚 role in the聽Middle East.

鈥淚 think Germans are losing patience with our settlement policy and聽our treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. It鈥檚 a聽factor the German government can鈥檛 ignore,鈥� says Primor.

This would聽not translate into an immediate policy change on the German side.聽But if after the Israeli elections in January the new government聽continues a confrontational course toward the Palestinians, there is聽a possibility that Germany might actually join the chorus of rather strong聽critics within the European Union, Primor believes.

Earlier this year, German pollster Forsa published a study聽showing that 70 percent of Germans thought Israel was behaving聽recklessly and without taking the interests of its neighbors into聽consideration, 59 percent called Israel 鈥渁ggressive.鈥� Both figures had聽risen by about 10 percentage points in comparison with a similar study聽carried out in 2009.

Observers like Martin Kloke, a Berlin-based specialist on聽German-Israeli relations and author of 鈥淚srael and the German Left 鈥撀燭he History of a Difficult Relationship,鈥� think the reasons for this聽development are found not so much in Israel鈥檚 policy, but in a German聽desire to rewrite history.

鈥淥n the surface it is often ignorance,鈥� Mr. Kloke says. 鈥淧eople see聽the pictures of Gaza being turned to rubble by Israeli helicopter聽gunships, and they side with what they perceive as the underdog in this聽uneven fight.鈥�

But in Kloke鈥檚 eyes the coverage of the conflict聽already betrays a bias in the German media, which hardly covered the聽week-long rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli communities.

And that聽bias is the reflection of a sentiment in wider German society, says聽Kloke. 鈥淓very Palestinian killed by Israeli shells minimizes German guilt.聽German protest against the mistreatment of Palestinians is not about聽the Palestinians really, it is about showing that the Israelis aren鈥檛聽so different from our Nazi grandfathers,鈥� says Kloke.

The government and the political elites in Germany are well aware of聽the risk that any criticism of Israel can be misused. This is why such criticism from officials聽 is聽very rare, says Kloke. 鈥淏ut sometimes the Israelis make it聽quite difficult for Merkel.鈥�