German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on Wednesday that criticism of Israel is increasingly being used in Germany as a pretext to incite hatred against Jews.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Central Council of Jews, Merz said that antisemitism has become “louder, more open, more shameless, and almost daily more violent” since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, in Israel, which triggered the conflict in Gaza.
Hamas is a Palestinian group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
“‘Criticism of Israel’ and the most brutal reversal of the victim-aggressor relationship is increasingly turning into a pretext through which the poison of antisemitism spreads,” he said.
Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States and has long been one of its strongest supporters, largely due to historical responsibility for the Nazi Holocaust—a policy known as Staatsraison.
However, last month Germany suspended the export of weapons that could be used in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s plan to expand its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave. This marked the first time Germany acknowledged denying military support to its long-standing ally.
The decision came amid growing pressure from the public and the smaller coalition partner over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has severely restricted the supply of food and water.
In his speech in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz noted this shift, stating that criticism of the Israeli government “must be possible,” but added:
“Our country suffers spiritually when such criticism becomes a pretext for hatred against Jews, or even if it leads to demands that Germany turn its back on Israel.”
