Political cowardice writ large: Germany’s silence on Israeli violence is deafening

Although it will not be surprising to most observers that Germany has its difficulties in condemning human rights violations when it comes to Israel, the most recent violence has shown an unprecedented support for the Jewish state in the national media and across party lines. 

In the wake of the latest escalations, the German government and opposition parties, including the right-wing Alternative für Deutschland, have reaffirmed their position on Israel’s right to defend itself. Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking through the government’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert, first issued a statement on May 14^th, days after Palestinians rose up to demonstrate against the forceful expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah. Even though different human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, already flagged Israel’s brutal repression of Palestinians in East Jerusalem at the time, the German government chose to remain silent. Merkel’s statement that “nothing justifies such terror” came late – and it solely referred to the shooting of rockets by Hamas. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it came without a similar condemnation of Israeli aggression, which Israel’s largest human rights organization B’tselem has identified as “an outcome of the apartheid regime that controls the entire area.”

Unlike other geopolitical issues, Israel is not up for discussion among Germany’s main parties. Although the left party Die Linke criticised Israel’s attempt at illegally expelling families from Sheikh Jarrah, it conveniently circumvented directly addressing Israeli state violence by strongly denouncing Hamas’ aggression and advocating for a two-state solution. At the same time, Annalena Baerbock, who is hailed as The Green Party’s promising Chancellor candidate, expressed her solidarity with Israelis and the State of Israel whose “security is part of Germany’s raison d’être.” What stands out the most, however, is the outright silence across all parties on Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip as well as Israeli police violence inside Israel and the West Bank, which Doctors Without Borders has called“unbearable and unacceptable.”

Whereas German allies like the United States have seen a rise in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, be it in the House of Congress, on social media, or in newspapers, Germany is far from adapting a critical stance. Only three years ago, Dieter Hanitzsch was sacked by one of Germany’s main newspapers Süddeutsche Zeitung for a caricature of Benjamin Netanyahu holding a rocket at the Eurovision Song Contest with the words “next year in Jerusalem”. Hanitzsch’s drawing was deemed “anti-Israeli” and “antisemitic”, sparking fear among fellow caricaturist to address Israeli politics in general. 

Very little has changed since then. On Friday, for example, a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Frankfurt was cancelled following pressure from Frankfurt’s mayor Uwe Becker, a known advocate for Israel. Rising concerns for antisemitism have also influenced reports on Palestinian solidarity movements. A demonstration in front of a synagogue, for instance, has sparked heavy criticism among politicians and the media. But while national newspapers and politicians from Merkel to Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas, who Ayelet Shaked once called “her personal friend”, focused on a zero-tolerance policy of an antisemitic and “Israel-hostile” environment, the situation on the ground in Israel and Palestine remained unchanged. 

However, Germany has a responsibility to act. Its history as the perpetrator of the Holocaust cannot be an excuse to shy away from addressing human rights violations and war crimes instigated by the Israeli state. Israel is one of the largest recipients of German weapons, constituting a special case as Germany cannot export weapons to countries that are at war or face a conflict at their borders. Until now, Germany hides behind portrayals of Hamas as the endless boogeyman, without condemning ethnic cleansing, racial discrimination, and a settler colonial reality that predates the founding of Hamas. If Germany wants to be a beacon of European values, which include human dignity, human rights, equality, and the rule of law, it has a duty to step up and distance itself from one of its closest allies. 

Only one year ago, German streets were filled with people supporting the Black Lives Matter protest. Then, chancellor Angela Merkel openly censured the racism in the United States that resulted in the death of George Floyd. But human rights are not a buffet: you cannot pick and choose what you like the most.