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Merkel to Knesset: Germany will always stand by Israel

By Shahar Ilan and Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service Tags:
Israel, Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel earned a standing ovation at the Knesset on Tuesday after pledging to stand by Israel's side against any threat, particularly from Iran, and paying tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

"Especially in this place, I emphasize: Every German government and every chancellor before me was committed to the special responsibility Germany has for Israel's security," she said.

"This historic responsibility is part of my country's fundamental policy. It means that for me, as a German chancellor, Israel's security is non-negotiable," she added.

The German chancellor took a strong stance against the ongoing Qassam rocket fire at Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip.

"I say it in a clear voice - the Qassam fire must stop," Merkel said. "Terror attacks are a crime, and do not resolve political disputes."

The chancellor also singled out the Iranian nuclear threat. "It is not up to the world to prove that Iran is pursuing a nuclear bomb, but rather up to Iran to that it is not," said Merkel. "If Iran does not accept this, Germany will push for further sanctions."

"If Iran were to obtain nuclear weapons, it would have disastrous consequences," she said. "We have to prevent this."

Merkel's visit was emotionally charged due to the memory of the Holocaust, and in her Knesset address the chancellor said the murder of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis continues to be a source of shame for Germans.

"The mass murder of six million Jews, carried out in the name of Germany, has brought indescribable suffering to the Jewish people, Europe and the entire world," she said.

"The Shoah fills us Germans with shame. I bow before the victims. I bow before the survivors and before all those who helped them survive," she said, using the Hebrew word for Holocaust.

Several MKs boycotted the session, in protest of the decision to allow Merkel to address the Knesset in German. At the outset of her speech, however, Merkel thanked the Knesset in Hebrew for the opportunity to speak.

In his address, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hailed the strong ties between Israel and Germany.

"The special relationship between Israel and Germany is a prime example of humanity's ability to overcome," Olmert said.

Olmert also thanked Merkel for her strong stance on Iran's nuclear program, urging other countries to follow Berlin's example.

Merkel started her planned Knesset visit Tuesday at an opening lunch hosted by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik in the Chagall Hall of the Knesset, where she vowed Germany would do its best to bring back two Israel Defense Forces soldiers abducted by Hezbollah.

"We want to help Israel solve its difficult problems," Merkel said in an opening speech, "we will do our best to help bring [IDF] captives home and we'll do our best to contribute to the peace process."

Merkel also spoke about the cooperation between Israel and Germany, her visit on Monday to Yad Vashem, and the joint meeting between the two governments.

She maintained that the opportunity to speak in front of the MKs in the plenum is a great honor. "The cooperation and friendship between Israel and Germany is part of history's miracles and this must provide us with energy to overcome even the toughest problems," Merkel said.

Earlier Tuesday, Merkel met with President Shimon Peres, and the two agreed that only a serious investment in the Palestinian economy could advance the peace process.

Peres showed Merkel his 'peace valley' plan which includes a German-funded industrial zone in Jenin. Merkel said that Germany intends to donate 10 million euros to fund the project.

"Only the improvement of the quality of life, education and infrastructure can push peace forward, as opposed to the supply of guns or donations which only exacerbates the corruption in the Palestinian Authority," Peres said.

Merkel thanked Peres for giving her a personal tour of Sde Boker and said that she was excited about sitting with her ministers in a joint meeting with the Israeli government.

She added that Germany is interested in taking an active part in the economic cooperation between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians and she intends to personally supervise the establishment of the industrial zone in Jenin.

Labor MK shuns Merkel's Knesset speech in German

Labor MK Shelly Yachimovich shunned Merkel's speech, in protest of what she called the "insensitive" decision to let her address the house in German.

"Germany is our friend," Yachimovich said, "but in this day and age we should respect the survivors' injured soul."

Israel Radio quoted Yachimovich as saying she would be absent from the speech because it was "insensitive" toward Holocaust survivors to hold it in German.

Last week, the Knesset House Committee decided to allow Merkel to address the plenum in German. According to the Knesset rules of procedure, heads of states are entitled to address the house in their own language without prior approval. However, since the German head of the state is the country's president, the chancellor's speech had to get special approval.

Over the past two years, the Knesset heard two speeches in German, one by then German President Horst Koehler and another by the European Parliament Speaker Hans-Gert Poettering.

National Union-National Religious Party MK Arieh Eldad said in response to the committee resolution that he would stand up and leave the hall during Merkel's speech.

"I can't bear the thought of hearing German in the Knesset," he said. "This is the language my grandparents were murdered in."

Merkel to Knesset: Germany will always stand by Israel - Haaretz - Israel News

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