Angela Merkel on 50 years of German-Israeli relations
Three questions for the German Federal Chancellor.
Madame Chancellor, do you remember your first encounter with Israel or Israelis?
I remember my inaugural visit to Israel in January 2006, shortly after I was appointed Chancellor. I laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Memorial there. For me Yad Vashem symbolizes the awful uniqueness of the Holocaust in a special way. The place filled me with a deep sense of shame. I recall my entry in the guestbook kept at the memorial site, where I quoted Wilhelm von Humboldt: “Only those who know the past have a future.” For me this applies to German-Israeli relations in a special way.
How would you describe German-Israeli relations in the anniversary year of 2015?
The 50th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany is cause for gratitude and joy. We can look back on what we have achieved and, without exaggerating, call it a miracle. Our two countries are connected by extraordinarily close and broad-based political, economic, cultural and social links, to the benefit of their people. Shared values are the foundations on which we stand. The range of joint projects extends from science and research through environmental protection to business and tourism. Development cooperation in African states is now also amongst our joint endeavours. The German-Israeli government consultations initiated in 2008 show year after year how close and forward-looking our bilateral relations are.
Do you think that relations with Israel will maintain their special character over the coming 50 years?
In 1965, David Ben-Gurion and Konrad Adenauer laid the foundations for the future friendship between our two nations. Yet, in light of the suspension of natural human behaviour that was the Shoah no one really expected a relationship of such closeness to evolve. Against this background I am confident that our friendship will become even stronger in coming decades and that our peoples will continue to nurture these relations and move them forward actively in full awareness of the responsibility history has placed upon us, and our shared values.