The Byzantine Alliance --ie EU/Russia/Israel-- rolls on...
Sunday 11 March 2001
Israel forges crucial alliance with Germany
By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem
HALF a century after the Holocaust, Germany has become Israel's largest trading partner after the United States and its prime ally in its drive to strengthen economic and political ties with Europe.
Israeli officials see German support as vital to efforts to win a formal European Union declaration of their nation's "special status" - particularly at a time when the Jewish state's human rights record is under fire in other European capitals.
Since the German presidency of the EU in 1994, Israel has enjoyed special status in its relations with the Union. The aim now is to have that declaration, which was merely an agreement in principle, formalised. If successful, Israel would be granted important privileges for free movement of capital, goods, people and services on a par with countries such as Switzerland and Norway.
The project is being pursued by the Israel-EU Forum, comprised of Israeli politicians, economists and academics. The forum - its members include Shimon Peres, the veteran Labour politician who is the new foreign minister, and David Klein, the governor of the Bank of Israel - has drawn up plans and is seeking early talks with the EU.
The forum's chairman, Avi Primor, a past ambassador to Germany, said that Helmut Kohl, the former German chancellor, had defined Germany as "Israel's locomotive" in the project. Mr Primor said: "We've been told personally by the current German chancellor and foreign minister that they will lead the initiative on our behalf. Who can convince the French or British of our cause better than the Germans?"
Close German support for Israel in this initiative is a natural development for a country that has forged ahead of its EU counterparts in nurturing closer economic, political and security co-operation with Israel. Germany has overtaken Britain in the past two years to become Israel's second-largest trading partner. Bilateral annual trade is now worth more than £2.9 billion, while Israeli firms are investing increasingly in Germany.
Noam Katz, an Israel foreign ministry official, said: "My mother was born in Berlin and, for many years, she refused to use German products. This is understandable from people who survived the Holocaust. But today things are different." He explained: "We have come together with the Germans to work as partners in building our country. There are only a few minor sections of the population who resist this closer relationship."
While Jews of the Diaspora may still harbour hostile feelings towards Germany, these are not always shared by all Israelis - many of whom regard the country as having atoned for past sins. Today, Germans and Israelis talk effusively about a "special relationship" which, paradoxically, is rooted in the Holocaust.
Many years before diplomatic relations were established in 1965, the first rapprochement came with the 1952 accord on German reparations, which involved the payment of more than $865 million to individuals and the state of Israel. Some of these reparations, such as joint transport and industrial projects, helped to bring people together. Now, with the last generation of Holocaust survivors dying out, younger Israelis find ever fewer barriers to forging closer links on many levels.
For example, the two countries' intelligence services work closely together, swapping information on the Arab world and eastern Europe. Germany is now acting to secure the release of three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in October by Hizbollah, the Lebanon-based Shia Muslim guerrilla group.
Germany ranks as Israel's leading scientific exchange partner and its second most important military partner after the US. On the trade front, the car makers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW are all big players in the Israeli market. Many German firms have bought into Israeli computer and electronics firms. Nearly 200,000 Germans visit Israel each year.
There are, however, those within the EU who have expressed misgivings about some aspects of the special relationship - particularly the way Germany has taken an uncritical approach towards Israel's handling of the Palestinian uprising. The Germans appear unabashed by the criticism. Reinhard Wiemer, the press attache at the German embassy in Tel Aviv, said: "We are the closest advocate of Israel within the EU. We are seen as the moderating influence and important in keeping the Israeli point of view in mind within the EU."
telegraph.co.uk |
