Since Angela Merkel’s speech in the Knesset, standing up for Israel’s security has been considered a German matter of state. However, opinions differ as to whether the Bundeswehr should become active.
Israel’s most important ally is the USA, but in view of the Iranian threat, a debate has now broken out in Germany about possible military support. The chairman of the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, Marcus Faber, is skeptical about the Bundeswehr being deployed in the Middle East conflict. Germany should help Israel, for example by quickly approving arms exports, the FDP politician told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). But he added: “The Bundeswehr in Israel was not asked and could not help much.”
CDU foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter had previously argued that the German government should offer Israel military support to defend itself against the threat of an Iranian attack. His party colleague Johann Wadephul sees things differently. “As far as we know, scenarios such as military support are not on the agenda. A mandate from the Bundestag would be needed for that anyway,” the Union parliamentary group vice-chair told the RND.
The new crisis in the Middle East was triggered by two deadly attacks on leading members of Hamas and Hezbollah last week. On Wednesday night, an explosion in the room of an Iranian government guesthouse in Tehran killed the foreign chief of the Islamist Hamas, Ismail Haniya. A few hours earlier, the high-ranking Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an air raid in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Israel claimed responsibility for the attack on Shukr, but there have been no official statements of this kind from Jerusalem regarding the attack on Haniya. Iran and its ally Hamas blame the Jewish state in both cases and have threatened retaliation.
Merkel coined the term “raison d’état”
The parliamentary manager of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU), said that so far there has been no desire from Israel for immediate military support. At the same time, he stressed: “The issue of reasons of state must be clear.”
The legally non-specific term “raison d’état” was coined by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). In March 2008, she said in a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament: “Every German government and every German Chancellor before me was committed to Germany’s special historical responsibility for Israel’s security. This historical responsibility is part of my country’s raison d’état.”
Frei said that – then as now – it was about supporting Israel “with everything we have at our disposal and what we can use”. Nevertheless, one must always ask the question, “What is right, what is smart?” And then one must “approach things with a great deal of common sense” and also be careful not to contribute to the escalation of the situation on the ground. One must also ensure that what one does “is actually helpful and useful in the end, and then the second look may be different from the first”.
For him, the concept of “reason of state” means that Germany has a special obligation “to ensure that what happened to the Jewish people with the Shoah – and the existence of Israel was basically the international legal response to the Shoah – that something like this never happens again.”
Union politician Hardt urges discretion
The Union’s foreign policy spokesman, Jürgen Hardt, also contradicted Kiesewetter. He told WDR that one should not raise expectations that German fighter planes could be used to defend Israel. “I fear that the Bundeswehr would not be able to do that, even if we wanted to,” Hardt continued. He also believes that such questions should not be discussed openly, but behind closed doors.
SPD defense expert Andreas Schwarz told the RND: “So far, there have been no inquiries from Israel. However, I assume that the federal government is prepared for this and is in contact with Israel and its western allies on this issue.” Schwarz pointed out that protecting Israel is a German matter of state. “This is a clear promise with a very high level of responsibility. In an emergency, these big words must be followed by corresponding actions.”
Josef Schuster: Germany should stand by Israel in the event of a major attack
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, was more explicit. Germany’s historical responsibility for Israel’s security is not legally binding, Schuster said in an interview with RND. Nevertheless, he stressed: “But from my point of view, this naturally means that in the event of an attack on the scale that is currently threatening, Germany will also stand militarily on the side of the Jewish state.”
The President of the German-Israeli Society (DIG), Volker Beck, also called for this. In addition, the Federal Security Council should immediately approve all arms exports to Israel. “The restraint and the bureaucratic individual decisions must now be made in the Federal Security Council,” Beck said, according to the statement. The Chancellor and various Federal Ministers sit on the Federal Security Council to deal with strategic questions of Germany’s security policy.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
