Dr. Hans-Jürgen Heimsoeth reminded the audience of the importance of an “open-dialogue“ between Jews and Germans. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations on May 12, 1965, the political and human bonds between Germany and Israel have grown closer. Dr. Westheimer, who lost her parents in Auschwitz and Mr. Primor, one of the most popular Israeli ambassadors ever appointed to the Federal Republic of Germany, focused on the various challenges and problems leading up to the establishment of the relations between the two countries and their continuous importance. This did not only involve the political relations between the two states but also and in particular the personal, human relations between individuals from both countries. With her psychological and sociological background, Dr. Westheimer offered valuable (and entertaining) insights into her own experiences and gave a moving testimonial about her childhood as an orphan, her time as a young student in Paris, and the challenges of re-obtaining her German citizenship while Mr. Primor focused to a greater degree on the political questions analyzing milestones, commenting on key events and international developments.

“The willingness to talk about the Holocaust,“ Westheimer emphasized, “is the base to be productive and to change the world in an active way. Just feeling guilty or forgetting the past makes people unable to act and isn’t an option at all!“. Avi Primor, whose comments reflected his deep understanding into past and current political developments, also stressed the importance of human relationships. Israel has always been a great importer; the country grew accustomed to German machines and products. The contact between German and Israeli entrepreneurs and technicians “broke the ice“ and had a lasting positive effect on the dialogue between Israelis and Germans, which can not be compensated with government agreements. Today Israel does more research and development together with Germany than with any other country. Furthermore there had been German-Israeli student exchange programs long before diplomatic relationships were established.

According to Mr. Primor, Israel needs to extend its relationship with the European Union. “The European Union is the future”, he said: “We only have to look on the map and we can see that with Cyprus gaining membership, the EU is only 150 miles from Israel. We have so much in common, values and economic interests”. He reminded the audience of the fact that Israel has many highly educated young people and the most engineers per capita in the world. Mr Primor also warned not to mistake criticism towards Israeli politics for antisemitism saying that there is a big difference between voicing an opinion about the actions of the Israeli government and making derogatory comments about Jewish people.

The panel was followed by a Q&A session. The closing comments, however, belonged to Dr. Westheimer who with a piece of advice introduced her latest book “Musically Speaking: A Life through Song”, in which she shares her ideas on how life can be shaped by music: “Now I give you some homework: make your personal collection of your favorite songs and copy them onto a CD as a legacy to your family.”

The evening concluded with a reception with guests and panelists sharing their views on the topic. It was obvious that there is still a deep need to discuss the German-Israeli-relationship and a willingness to talk to each other.

May 28, 2008