Germany and Israel are set to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations despite persistent, feisty Gaza war tensions and the past deep scar of the Holocaust.
On Monday, the Israeli President Isaac Herzog will fly to Germany as part of the events to commemorate a relationship many have come to define as “a miracle.”
A statement from Bundeskanzleramt said that the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will welcome Herzog and his wife to Berlin before they all embark on a return to Israel in a visit aimed at demonstrating affirmed solidarity and their existing strong ties.
The two-day visit by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife will include a tour of Israel, a meeting with high-ranking Israeli politicians, a town hall with the residents of the kibbutz community, and a talk parley with the young people.
The visit will spark discussions about Hamas, the infamous event of October 7, 2023, and the swift military confrontation that ensued. It prompted a series of condemnations by the international community, including countries from the European Union.
Israel’s high-handedness and its military offensive against Hamas did not influence Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s perception of Israel. In his words, “Support for Israel remains a core principle; relations have come under strain in recent years.”
In 2025, at the height of Israel’s catastrophic posture against Hamas and its continuous bombing of Palestine, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for alleged war crimes against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.
In spite of these conflicting interests, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor believes that Germany remained “Israel’s most important ally in Europe,” rooted in “true friendship. Even if things sometimes get tough, it always remains a fair and friendly relationship.”
To demonstrate Germany’s friendliness and strong relations with Israel, Merz said, “Israel has the right to defend itself against the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and everything that followed.”
“But Israel must also remain a country that lives up to its humanitarian obligations, especially as this terrible war is raging in the Gaza Strip, where this confrontation with Hamas terrorists is necessarily taking place,” he said.
Herzog’s visit to Berlin, which is set to herald Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s two-day visit to Israel, will open a new layer in German-Israeli relations and foster even stronger ties.
