The German-Israeli Society (DIG) is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Keynote speakers emphasise the diversity of opinion within the pro-Israel organisation.
Since its foundation 60 years ago, the German-Israeli Society has been characterised by discussion and diversity. This was stated by DIG President Volker Beck on 13 October 2026 at an anniversary event at the Rotes Rathaus in Berlin. He said that the organisations’s members are partners of Israeli society. “And when it matters, and the State of Israel is under attack, we always stand by its side.”
Beck pointed out that the DIG was founded in the year following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel. He called for a basic understanding of Jewish religion and culture to be included in the curriculum. The history of Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel must be addressed so that pupils can gain an understanding of the Middle East conflict.
A basic understanding of 2,000 years of anti-Semitism is also necessary. Anti-Semitic narratives must be explained in schools, “because they keep resurfacing”. Lessons must convey “that the repetition of these narratives, even in discourse about Israel, serves to lend plausibility to lies”. Echoing the statement by former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (1998–2005) about the “uprising of the Decent”, the DIG President called for an “uprising of those in charge”.
“Denying Israel’s right to exist is a red line”
Florian Hahn (CSU), Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, said in a welcoming address that the DIG was more than just a community of discourse. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, its “Help for Israel” campaign had mobilised people throughout Germany.
Hahn described the establishment of diplomatic relations in May 1965 as a “step of historic significance”. This, he said, had led to a new form of responsibility. The good relations we enjoy today are the result of determination, hard work and trust.
The Minister of State described the “barbaric attack” of 7 October 2023 as a “profound turning point” – not least because of the rise in anti-Semitism in Germany. This must be resolutely opposed – regardless of where it comes from. One must “speak out when Israel is delegitimised as a Jewish state”. Nobody wants to restrict freedom of expression. “But denying Israel’s right to exist is an absolute red line,” Hahn emphasised. He thanked the DIG for “60 years of social commitment”.
Further messages of congratulations came from Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU), Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU) and Member of the Bundestag Siemtje Möller (SPD). Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) offered his congratulations via a video message.
Deputy Ambassador: Defending friendship
The Israeli Deputy Ambassador, Guy Giladi, also paid tribute to the DIG. He said it had shaped and strengthened the friendship and kept it alive despite all opposition. “Let us preserve this friendship, defend it and pass it on to future generations, so that our children and grandchildren too may one day say: ‘This friendship has weathered every storm’,” he told the members of the German-Israeli Society.
The diplomat referred to a demonstration outside the Bundestag on Saturday, during which thousands had chanted: “Yalla Yalla Intifada”. These battle cries “do not stand for peace, but for violence and, ultimately, for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state”. They contribute to legitimising violence against Jews. Politicians from a party “which could soon be governing here in the town hall” were also present, he said, referring to the Left Party in Berlin.
Giladi refuted allegations of genocide against Israel: “More people are living in Gaza today than on 7 October.” He repeated this sentence to highlight the absurdity. He described it as bitter that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the South African Navanethem Pillay was being celebrated in Berlin: it was in this city that the Nazis’ genocide of the Jews began.
Review and Outlook
Two panel discussions focused on an analysis of bilateral relations and on future prospects for the coming decades. Gitta Connemann (CDU), Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation, described it as a strength of the DIG that its members had always sat together across party and parliamentary group lines. The German-Israeli Parliamentary Group is one of the largest in the Bundestag, which is a good sign.
In her view, alienation stems from superficiality, she said during the first round of discussions. One factor is a lack of knowledge about the Jewish state, “which, however, does not prevent anyone in Germany from passing very firm judgements on Israel. That is remarkably bad”.
No fewer than two participants grew up in Israel in households where German products were taboo. One is the former Israeli ambassador to Berlin, Yakov Hadas-Handelsman. He recalls the protests against the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. He would have liked to replace the term ‘special’ relations with ‘unique’ relations, he said. This is because ‘special’ is a term from the Second World War; it was used in expressions such as ‘Sonderzug’ (special train) to refer to Jews.
The political scientist Tamar Hermann also belongs to the second generation. Her father was a Shoah survivor. He never bought German products and refused to visit Germany. “But the younger generation in Israel does not share this view.” They regard Germany as just another country in Europe, with a higher standard of living and a more liberal society. With regard to anti-Semitism, Hermann said that the majority of Israelis perceive less of a threat from the far right than from the far left.
Former Minister of State Roth: Anti-Semitism also comes from the left
Michael Roth, former chair of the German Bundestag’s Foreign Affairs Committee, first visited Israel in 1999. The SPD politician was part of a group of young Red-Green MPs who wanted to send a message – “that Israel is very, very important to us”.
In the Valley of the Communities at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, he came across villages from his constituency in northern Hesse. He had not known that there had once been Jewish communities there: “They had all been wiped out; everything was gone; everything had vanished.” That had stayed with him ever since, said Roth. He had had to travel to Israel before he could learn anything about the history of his homeland.
The former Minister of State added that in recent years it had become clear to him that anti-Semitism is not a phenomenon confined to right-wing extremists alone, but occurs in other sections of society – to his distress, even within the progressive Left, to which he feels he belongs.
“You learn something new at every turn”
The participants in the second panel discussion were asked to explain what motivated their commitment. Jakob Blankenburg, the SPD parliamentary group’s spokesperson on the environment and climate protection, is also chair of the DIG working group in Lüneburg. He says he appreciates the fact that many different cultures come together in Israel: “You learn something new on every corner.”
Olga Deutsch is vice-president of the organisation “NGO Monitor” in Jerusalem. She considers Israel’s relations with Germany to be the most important of all its relations in Europe.
Anika Schmütz, Federal Chair of the Young Forum of the German-Israeli Society, cited the “glaring absence of Jewish life in the little backwater where I grew up” – a consequence of National Socialism. In Israel, she was struck by the warmth, openness and “fascinating diversity”. In the face of anti-Semitism, she said, it was “more important than ever to champion these relations”.
Marlene Schönberger (Alliance 90/The Greens), Deputy Chair of the German-Israeli Parliamentary Group, also took part in the panel discussion. She said she had grown up in a household that showed strong solidarity with Israel and was critical of anti-Semitism, and had come to know the country naively and without prejudice. Israel is a “safe haven from anti-Semitism”. She wants to “stand alongside those who champion a free and secure Israel”.
“We are heading into a complicated 60 years”
The discussion was moderated by the Israeli-Austrian journalist Ben Segenreich. At the end of the event, he summed up: “Israel is a very complex issue. The situation in Europe and Germany is also very complex. And we are heading into a complex next 60 years.”
The German-Israeli Society was founded in Bonn in March 1966. It promotes bilateral relations between Germany and Israel in the fields of civil society, culture and academia. In this non-partisan organisation, friends of Israel work together “to show solidarity with the State of Israel and its citizens”, according to its website. The DIG is headquartered in Berlin. According to its own figures, it currently has almost 10,000 members and more than 50 working groups throughout Germany.
Source: israelnetz.com (in German)| Author: Elisabeth Hausen