Brian J. (“B.J.”) Hoffman
Germany has arguably been Israel’s most loyal and dependable ally in Europe. Driven largely by its experience under the Nazi regime and its genocide of European Jewry during the Shoah, Germany has reckoned with its dark past by deepening its commitment to its remaining Jewish community and in advocating for the security of the state of Israel.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously coined the term “Staatsraison” (“Reason of State”) during a 2008 speech to the Israeli Knesset, noting that the protection of Israel was a fundamental national interest of Germany. The concept of Staatsraison was reiterated by Merkel’s successor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in 2023, following the Hamas massacre of Israelis.
However, current world events and changing political tides are threatening to alter the historic relationship between Germany, its Jewish community, Israel and the United States.
I recently returned from a week in Hamburg and Berlin, part of a 45-year-long leadership exchange program between American Jewish Committee and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. KAS, a political foundation associated with Germany’s Christian Democratic party, focuses on promoting liberal democracy and the transatlantic partnership.
One needs to look no further than Germany’s Jewish population to see rapid changes afoot. In the last year, many German Jews have begun making contingency plans to emigrate, given skyrocketing antisemitism. Buffeted by antisemitism from the political right, the political left, and Germany’s burgeoning immigrant community, antisemitic incidents increased by 77% in 2024, as documented by RIAS, the German Research and Information Center on Antisemitism.
Antisemitic incidents surely have increased as a result of the war in Gaza, largely from the immigrant community in Germany. The increase in antisemitism also predates the war, a result of right-wing populism evidenced by the rapid rise of the AfD party, Alternative for Germany.
Sadly, in the last year, life for Germany’s Jews has begun to more closely resemble that of France’s Jewish community — an experience dominated by physical violence, verbal threats and a degradation of domestic public political support.
While German political, military and civil leaders continue to advocate for the nation’s special relationship with its Jews and with Israel, the average German citizen is much more inclined to question this historic relationship.
Younger Germans are particularly susceptible to a shift away from supporting Israel. These changes are likely the result of images emanating from Gaza, but also from the changing demographics of German society and from the ever-lengthening time distance between the horrors of the Holocaust and today’s Germany.
Germans today seem less inclined to associate Germany’s past with Germany’s present, particularly among the large population that has emigrated to Germany since the 1980s, for whom the Holocaust era is unconnected with their own family history.
Simultaneously, Germany is being impacted by great disruptions in Europe and in the transatlantic partnership. The war in Ukraine, European migration challenges and the Trump administration’s messaging over potential changes in the NATO alliance and in the imposition of economic tariffs are compelling Germany to reexamine its role within Europe and its relationship with the United States.
Since World War II, Germany has often been highly deferential to the United States, and to the international system of rules-based order. With the largest gross domestic product in the European Union, Germany today has an opportunity to seize a leadership role, if it can find its voice and its footing. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is showing early signs of being able to do so, though his government coalition faces hurdles from the far right, from migration difficulties and from a stagnant economy.
While Germany struggles with its identity, it is imperative for its leaders to recommit to Staatsraison, and to effectively message the importance of safeguarding its Jewish community. Germany has an opportunity to fill a current leadership void emerging in the Western world.
However, with that opportunity comes a continuing obligation to recognize Germany’s dark past and to combat current threats to its country’s Jews. To do so will require loud, clear and persistent messaging from the German government.