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German Chancellor Angela Merkel sitting next to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during a special session of Knesset in Jerusalem on Tuesday. (AP)
Last update - 12:34 19/03/2008
ANALYSIS: Merkel condemns Qassams, but ignores Israel's actions
By Tom Segev, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Angela Merkel, Israel 

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier left Israel only hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel took to the Knesset podium Tuesday afternoon. The Germans meticulously calculated that the entourage of ministers accompanying Merkel might make her seem imperious, as though she were a ruler surrounded by subjects.

Indeed, there was something imperious about the inclusion of so many ministers in Merkel's delegation. The Germans already have held joint government sessions with other governments, such as France and Poland. No foreign government has held a session in Jerusalem since the British mandate.

Prior to her arrival, Merkel made an effort to call Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. But her joint session with Olmert's government was a show of complete and unequivocal support for its policies. Threatening Israel's existence is akin to threatening Germany's, Merkel said during her visit. Even U.S. politicians never have made such a statement.
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During her Knesset speech, Merkel spoke extensively about the Holocaust and her country's friendship with Israel; these were heart-warming, yet predictable, remarks. It is often said the two countries have a special relationship. Beforehand, such a remark always related to the Holocaust, which loomed large; nowadays, it refers to the two countries' affinity in almost every field, including security, cultural and economic ties.
One cannot imagine Israel's cultural scene without the millions invested by Germany.

MK Avishay Braverman (Labor), formerly the president of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, said Tuesday that at times, Germany aided his institution more than the Israeli government did.

With that in mind, it seems curious that the two countries failed to sign a cultural ties agreement during Merkel's trip, but the deal was not thwarted because of emotional residues. Rather, what prevented it were perfectly prosaic issues: The Germans asked that the Goethe Institute receive tax breaks, which Israel rejected.

Anyone unaware of where Merkel was speaking (Jerusalem) would never have known it is a city where a third of its citizens have been living under occupation for more than 40 years, a city divided by a wall reminiscent of the Berlin Wall. Merkel spoke of the need for "painful concessions" from both sides in the name of peace. Olmert has used this term as well.

She rightfully described the Qassam rocket fire on Sderot as a crime, but did not say a word about repeated human rights abuses in the West Bank, the bombing of residential areas in Gaza or the settlements. Olmert was caught on camera telling Merkel that all the construction workers building a house in front of his residence are Arabs, and the chancellor gave a concerned nod in return.

Had she been more balanced, Merkel might have made life in Israel and the occupied territories less intolerable. Perhaps she made an error. Either way, her unrestrained support for Israeli policy is a result of her biography. As she said Tuesday, she came from East Germany, which used to ignore its part in Nazi crimes and act as though it were West Germany's fault alone.

After German unification, Merkel discovered that the moral and political responsibility for the genocide of the Jews rested equally on all Germans. Most West Germans already had grown accustomed to that knowledge. One of her insiders equated her stance on Israel to that of a convert embracing a new set of beliefs. But either way, Merkel's stance does not represent Germany's or Israel's public discourse.

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      1.   Lots of Baloney (Weak Analysis) In this Piece. Go Merkel!!!! 01:48  |  Brad 19/03/08
      2.   Europe taken over by the Zionist Lobby 01:50  |  Chanalau, Tova 19/03/08
      3.   Angela Merkel 01:51  |  Joerg 19/03/08
      4.   Madam Merkel!! 01:55  |  John 19/03/08
      5.   could not have said it any worse myself 01:56  |  Jon 19/03/08
      6.   merkel being more German than the Germans! 01:58  |  lakshmi 19/03/08
      7.   Israel wrongdoing? Do you prefer suicide bombings or Qassams? 01:59  |  Robert 19/03/08
      8.   The Chancellor 01:59  |  Rafi 19/03/08
      9.   DEAR TOM SEGEV: 02:09  |  Brant 19/03/08
      10.   Tom Segev is a joke 02:11  |  A Nice Fellow 19/03/08
      11.   What a sloppy article 02:21  |  Janet 19/03/08
      12.   This reporter needs a job at Al-Jazeera 02:30  |  US Citizen 19/03/08
      13.   Another self hating Jew speaks out. G-d Help Us. 02:35  |  Steven 19/03/08
      14.   Amazing 02:41  |  John 19/03/08
      15.   No one, no nation 02:56  |  Mark Lincoln 19/03/08
      16.   MERKEL BETTER FOR ISRAEL THAN HAARETZ 03:02  |  LEO RENNERT 19/03/08
      17.   Imagine 03:02  |  Habakuk 19/03/08
      18.   Ravi, She Was Born in 1954 03:06  |  Reader 19/03/08
      19.   Joerg 03:08  |  Jane 19/03/08
      20.   Israeli Wrong Doing? Pinhead Editor!!!!! 03:10  |  David Schacory 19/03/08
      21.   well said mark lincoln 03:15  |  azriel bibliovitz 19/03/08
      22.   The Moronic and Destructive Tom Segev 03:21  |  Mickey 19/03/08
      23.   next visit of a prime minister 03:22  |  azriel bibliovitz 19/03/08
      24.   Tabloid journalism 03:24  |  Ilya 19/03/08
      25.   Guilt and Shame 03:26  |  Palestinian 19/03/08
      26.   Unbelievable 03:31  |  Jordan 19/03/08
      27.   When will the guilt trip end? 03:31  |  Henry 19/03/08
      28.   Merkel condomns Qassams 03:35  |  Johannes D. Schultz- 19/03/08
      29.   What`s wrong with Ha`aretz? 03:36  |  marvls 19/03/08
      30.   Naive Writer 03:37  |  Irv 19/03/08
      31.   Israeli Uncle Tom 03:41  |  Sam 19/03/08
      32.   Mark Segev 03:45  |  Albert 19/03/08
      33.   Mike 03:48  |  Cooper 19/03/08
      34.   Enemy Headline 03:51  |  Cry 19/03/08
      35.   She is tired of her country paying out... 03:54  |  Maureen Ann 19/03/08
      36.   CHANCELLOR MERKEL ISRAEL`S VISIT 03:55  |  Jais 19/03/08
      37.   POOR ANGELA MERKEL 03:56  |  BigBadJohn 19/03/08
      38.   Dear "nice fellow" and all other Segev bashers 03:56  |  Habkuk 19/03/08
      39.   Segev Belongs on Crossfire 03:59  |  SMF 19/03/08
      40.   #23 04:01  |  jeff 19/03/08
      41.   "8" Rafi 04:01  |  Habakuk 19/03/08
      42.   Of course, otherwise she will be hit with a E 50 billions 04:03  |  El-Birawi 19/03/08
      43.   Segev Self-Criticism Is Appeasement Deserving Dhimmitude Prize 04:06  |  Joseph . E 19/03/08
      44.   Maureen Ann 04:08  |  Avrum 19/03/08
      45.   israels actions the result not the cause of pal terror 04:13  |  jj 19/03/08
      46.   84% of Pals approve recent yeshiva attack 04:14  |  B (The other one) 19/03/08
      47.   Right, Segev, God forbid Israel should have any allies 04:34  |  McQueen 19/03/08
      48.   Doesn`t even begin to balance things out 04:36  |  McQueen 19/03/08
      49.   What "Israel wrongdoing" Haaretz?? Its self-defence 04:44  |  Free Gilad Shalit 19/03/08
      50.   doublespeak from segev 05:02  |  hillel 19/03/08
      51.   There are so many that condemn Israel and ignore Qassams 05:04  |  Genuine Tosefta 19/03/08
      52.   public discourse 05:36  |  drdanielito 19/03/08
      53.   Tom Segev and Haaretz are traitors. 05:36  |  sason 19/03/08
      54.   she doesnt regret the holocaust 1 second i bet 05:52  |  Christian Lebanese 19/03/08
      55.   Haaretz is the head of the 5th column 05:56  |  Franco 19/03/08
      56.   Merkel and the Germans 06:33  |  Hanl Berefter 19/03/08
      57.   A new low in journalism 06:54  |  dovvod 19/03/08
      58.   WTF HAARETZ!!!! WHAT IN GODS NAME?? 06:58  |  Abraham 19/03/08
      59.   Tom Segev - Author of Protocols of elders of Zion" 06:59  |  Shirit 19/03/08
      60.   WTF HAARETZ!!!! Part 2 07:07  |  Abraham 19/03/08
      61.   Haaretz - perpetuating the conflict 07:07  |  Zeidan 19/03/08
      62.   Haaretz censorship 07:17  |  Habakuk 19/03/08
      63.   Chanalau with the losers excuse for not being loved. 07:30  |  PETER SM 19/03/08
      64.   SEGEV trying to justify daily targetting of Israeli civillians 07:39  |  PETER SM 19/03/08
      65.   Angela: Ve don`t vant your Deutsch... 07:44  |  RedStarYeast 19/03/08
      66.   ANALYSIS: Merkel condemns Qassams, but ignores Israel`s wrongdoin 07:44  |  AVRUM 19/03/08
      67.   Merkel is another sick German 07:55  |  Dutch 19/03/08
      68.   #25 Palestinian: Mufti was a Nazi 08:12  |  Survivor 19/03/08
      69.   WRONG DOING ????? 08:30  |  MJ 19/03/08
      70.   Joerg 08:35  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 19/03/08
      71.