At a time when antisemitism in Europe is on the rise and boycotts against Israel are being enacted, it would seem that Israel has few friends in the world beyond the Jewish Diaspora. Curiously, some of Israel’s best friends come from a country whose leadership, less than a century ago, sought to annihilate the Jewish people.
President Isaac Herzog, on Tuesday, hosted close to 200 German influencers of varied ages and from different parts of Germany. In Israel, under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry, the visitors included mayors, academics, journalists, and parliamentary advisers on policy and strategy. What they had in common was that they were all pro-Israel and wanted to learn more about Israel by seeing the country and Israeli society close up.
They had been to Yad Vashem the previous day. That visit had been an emotionally draining experience. They were well acquainted with the ugly history of their forebears, but to see the well-documented evidence was painful.
Their visit to Israel was divided into three tracks: innovation and technology, politics, and culture.
In welcoming them, Herzog reeled off a string of names of German dignitaries whom he had recently met or spoken to on the phone. They included former Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he had hosted at dinner the previous week; Chancellor Friedrich Merz; and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, upon whom he had conferred the Presidential Medal of Honor. Herzog also mentioned celebrating 60 years of Israel-Germany diplomatic relations earlier this year.
He told his guests that they could ask him anything – and they did.
They, in turn, admired Herzog’s candor. He made no attempt to shy away from any issue, and they applauded him several times during the meeting.
Among the subjects raised were the attempts to deny Israeli participation in Eurovision and EuroLeague; prospects for peace; how to deal with antisemitism; the motion passed the previous evening by the UN Security Council, agreeing to endorse US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan; the dearth in tourism; and cooperation between Germany and Israel on a multitude of levels, such as education.
Herzog welcomed the outcome of the vote by the UN Security Council, stating that it was important to rehabilitate Gaza and offer the Gazan people a future. “It was a historic moment,” he said, praising Trump’s initiative.
'We want to reach peace with our neighbors': Herzog
Regarding Middle East peace prospects, Herzog said that Israel has been attacked on many fronts, “but we want to reach peace with our neighbors.”
Pointing to some of the difficulties in realizing that aim, Herzog said that there was a war machine that undermined everything that Israel does. In this context, he mentioned a systematic social media campaign that is brainwashing the public with false allegations against Israel.
He became a little excited when answering a question about attempts to exclude Israel from the Eurovision contest and the EuroLeague championships. Herzog acknowledged that it was perfectly legitimate to criticize Israel and to ask sensitive questions – “but to ban us is unacceptable.”
In responding to questions, he consistently reiterated the need for people with viewpoints that are poles apart to get to know and understand one another.
This was also included in a reply to a question about mandatory military service, which is now being considered in Germany.
What the questioner was worried about was the return to civilian life and social inequality.
While every country has to act in accordance with what is best for its own interests, said Herzog, in Israel, military service has people of completely different backgrounds, political views, and lifestyles fighting shoulder to shoulder. From his perspective, this helps heal social rifts and restore social balance.
“People don’t want to go back to divisiveness.”
Because of the security situation, the attitude in Israel is different, he explained. Military service is part of the nation’s DNA, he said, citing examples of men who were 80 and older, who donned their army uniforms and did anything that was asked of them. Some of these old soldiers had children and grandchildren fighting in the war at the same time, said Herzog.
“The young people knew what they were fighting for and did so out of pure conviction,” he continued.
The failure of the Oslo Accords was another of the issues raised. “What destroyed the ability to move on from Oslo was terrorism,” said Herzog.
“But we have to have a vision for the day after. We have to think peace, but not without thinking of the security needs of Israel,” he insisted.
He also advocated for stronger contacts, free of politics, between Israelis and Palestinians in order to establish mutual trust.
“We must stop the blame game and the rhetoric and find new solutions for how to live together,” he said.
As for antisemitism, one of the mayors said that, in his town, people had been very pro-Israel, and two years ago, that had begun to change, and he’s very worried.
“We all know how antisemitism starts and ends,” said Herzog. “It starts with the Jews, but it doesn’t end with the Jews. It’s a dangerous phenomenon based on a brainwashing campaign.”
He was concerned that young people were growing up with distorted messages. Yet, he said, not everyone is negatively affected.
Herzog mentioned church groups and the young German volunteers who come annually to Israel and help strengthen binational relations.