"Among the Israeli public, Merz remains relatively unknown, historian Moshe Zimmermann told DW. "If you asked people in a survey, 'Who is the current Chancellor of Germany?', no more than 10% of Israelis would know that his name is Friedrich Merz," Zimmerman said. "For the vast majority, Angela Merkel is still the Chancellor and she was very popular here." Lately, however, there have been increasingly critical voices coming from Germany regarding Israel's military conduct in Gaza, and that was somewhat unusual for Israelis."
""The visit reaffirms the strength of the bilateral relationship, Germany's commitment to Israel and Israel's commitment to Germany a partnership that has grown steadily stronger over recent years," said Jeremy Issacharoff, a former Israeli ambassador to Berlin between 2017 and 2022. "The press conference showed that the relationship is strong, but there are differences, primarily over how to move forward on the Palestinian issue," Issacharoff added. "I think both countries recognize that.""
Friedrich Merz made his first official visit to Israel seven months into his chancellorship, a trip that lasted less than 24 hours. The visit faced intense scrutiny in Germany over whether it might send the wrong signal during the Gaza conflict and rising West Bank violence. Polling indicates very low Israeli recognition of Merz, with fewer than 10% able to name him and many still associating Angela Merkel with the chancellorship. Leaders acknowledged differences on the Palestinian issue while reiterating a strong bilateral bond. German criticism of Israel's military conduct in Gaza has been increasingly visible and noted as unusual by Israelis.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]