Can Israel Trust Germany?
When Angela Merkel visited Israel in March, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert personally greeted the German chancellor at the airport, embracing her as if she were the president of the United States. From the moment she arrived, Merkel enjoyed full red carpet treatment from her Jewish hosts.
During the trip, Merkel heartily reaffirmed Germany’s “special” relationship with Israel, most notably through a groundbreaking speech delivered before the Knesset in which she repented of German atrocities committed during World War ii and pledged that Germany would “never abandon Israel, but instead will remain a loyal partner and friend.”
After the visit, the consensus among Israel’s leaders and media pundits was, Germany is now Israel’s second-best friend.
Indeed, judging by the flirtatious political dialogue, it appears the Israel-German relationship is in radiant health. In tow with Merkel was half the German cabinet, who during the visit conducted an inaugural joint-cabinet meeting with Israeli counterparts in the Knesset.
Note that last sentence: Israel’s acceptance of the EU as a key player in the peace process is largely a result of its trust in Germany. That signifies a momentous change in Israel’s foreign policy. The nation’s trust in Germany is deepening to the point where historic concerns about European meddling in Israel’s affairs are becoming redundant.
“Israel-European relations are at their highest point in a very long time,” wrote Barry Rubin last week. “Relations are now probably better than at any time since the early 1980s. … Today, the governments of the four main European countries—France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom—are all quite friendly toward Israel, with the first three being especially so.”
Rubin and the others who see German-Israel relations at a historic high point are partially right. Today there are a handful of European leaders—and Angela Merkel sits atop the list—who genuinely support Israel and the Jewish cause.
But these leaders form the minority in Europe.
For Israel’s leaders to interpret the warmth of a few as the will of the majority is naive and foolhardy, and will ultimately lead to Israel’s downfall!
The Jewish people must come to see and accept that behind the courageous pro-Israel viewpoint of Angela Merkel, a highly dangerous anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism pervades the German mainstream. As inspiring as Merkel’s speech might have been to Israel’s leaders, the German chancellor is a lone voice crying in the wilderness.
Chancellor Merkel simply does not have the support of her people to act in any meaningful way on her bold rhetoric. In fact, her pro-Israel attitude could easily lead to her political demise.
It would be foolish for Israelis to begin to invest their hope in the Merkel administration. But that’s exactly what they are doing!
Only last month, a survey for the bbc showed that Germans were among Europeans with the least favorable views of Israel. A poll conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation last year showed that 3 in 10 Germans have no qualms comparing Israel today to fascist Germany. For as much as the Merkel administration declares its love of Israel, Germany today remains the largest trading partner in the EU of Iran, Israel’s sworn enemy and the single-greatest threat to Jewish statehood. Moreover, criticizing and condemning Israel’s efforts to defend itself against attacks from Hamas remains a mainstream pastime among German intellectuals, the media and political elite.
Another survey released in Germany last week further exposed this painful reality. Spiegel Online reported:
According to the poll, which was published Saturday, 53 percent of people questioned responded in the negative when asked if Germany had a “special responsibility” towards Israel because of its history. Only 40 percent said the country did have a special responsibility.
Younger Germans in particular felt less responsibility toward Israel, with only 29 percent of those aged between 30 and 39 responding in the positive to the question. A massive 65 percent of respondents in that age group said Germany had no special responsibility to Israel.
Angela Merkel told the Jews that Germany has a “special responsibility” toward them. More than half of Germans disagree with her. Moreover, these figures will only worsen as older Germans—who generally have more sympathy for the Jews because they are more aware (and repentant) of Nazi atrocities toward Jews during World War ii—die and new generations of unrepentant Germans less inhibited by the actions of their Nazi forefathers bloom.
German support of Israel is fickle, the Spiegel poll revealed. While 58 percent of Germans would want their nation to support Israel politically (that is, with words) if it were attacked, 57 percent said Germany should not support Israel with money, and a mere 13 percent believe Germany should send troops to help.
The day after Merkel’s Knesset speech, the Jerusalem Post’s Manfred Gerstenfeld wrote a column noting the dichotomy between the German chancellor and her people: “Few in Israel realize that a majority of Germans probably disagree with several key statements she made here about her country’s past—including the mention of shame and guilt.”
He continued:
In contemporary Germany there are significant expressions of anti-Semitism and racism. This includes attacks on Jews, their cemeteries and Holocaust monuments, together with ongoing anti-Semitic prejudice toward Jews among significant parts of the population. In eastern Germany particularly, there are no-go areas for non-white people in several cities, major racist incidents and sometimes even murders.
At the same time, there are efforts in Germany to rewrite the past. Books by historian Jörg Friedrich, who compares the Allied actions to his nation’s atrocities during the war, are bestsellers. They promote “Holocaust equivalence” by using Nazi semantics to describe the Allied bombings of Germany during World War ii. Another aspect of the same attitude is expressed by the many Germans who think that Israel is showing Nazi-like behavior toward the Palestinians. What they mean to say is, “If everybody is guilty, then nobody is.”
Israel’s leaders ought to be looking at all this evidence and asking themselves one simple question: Can Israel trust Germany?
Even a child would answer with a resounding no! Yet this is precisely what Israel’s leaders are doing: showing increasing trust despite the deadly anti-Semitic, anti-Israel sentiment saturating the German mainstream.
This scenario exhibits all the signs of a spectacular double-cross in the making.
That’s exactly what is going to occur. How do we know? Because this event was prophesied by the Prophet Hosea in the Old Testament.
The Jews cherish the Old Testament and their rich history with the ancient prophets. Yet they ignore the message from God that these great men preached. More than 2,500 years ago the Prophet Hosea wrote about Germany’s impending double-cross of Israel: “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound” (Hosea 5:13).
That scripture is talking specifically about the current German-Israel relationship and the impending German double-cross. Don’t believe me? Then prove it for yourself. Request free copies of The United States and Britain in Prophecy and Hosea—Reaping the Whirlwind, and study these books with an open mind.
Israel’s leaders today are prepared to invest their trust and hope in a nation that 60 years ago destroyed the lives of 6 million Jews, yet they refuse to trust God—the only source of help, not just for the Jews, but for all of mankind, including you!
