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Congratulations, Israel

Chancellor Merkel Visits Israel in 60th Anniversary Year for First German-Israel Government Consulations

Tel Aviv: Prime Minister Olmert greets Chancellor Merkel with military honors.
© REGIERUNGonline / Kugler

Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert aim to open up a new chapter in German-Israeli relations, with the first government consultations between the two countries. The friendly relations the two nations now enjoy "is anything but self-evident" said the Chancellor in Tel Aviv on March 16. Merkel is the first head of government to visit Israel and congratulate it in this year in which Israel is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding.

Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Olmert underlined their interest in ensuring a lasting friendship between Israel and Germany. "We are aware of our everlasting historical responsibility," declared the Chancellor at the start of her three-day trip to Israel.

Chancellor Merkel had come, she declared, in the full awareness of the "special responsibility borne by Germany for the right of the state of Israel to exist." Germany would also like to help put an end to the Middle East conflict within the framework of a two-state solution, she added.

Israel is proud to welcome Angela Merkel on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state, Ehmud Olmert said. Germany is one of Israel’s most important allies and the Chancellor herself is a "close and trusted strategic partner.”

Shaping the future together

At the same time, Chancellor Merkel underlined the need to look to the future. Together with the Israeli government she would like to use the government consultations to launch projects that will help make the world a more peaceful and humane place.

Following hard on the heels of France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Poland, Israel is the sixth country with which Germany is holding government consultations. For Israel, Germany is the first partner with which it is cooperating in this form. The deliberations mark the start of annual consultations, which will be hosted alternately by Israel and by Germany. Accompanying Merkel in Israel are Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Ministers for Defense, Economics, Environment, Family and Research.

Laying a wreath at the grave of David Ben Gurion

Kibbutz: Merkel visits the Sde Boker Kibbutz, once home to David Ben Gurion.
© REGIERUNGonline / Kugler

Immediately after her arrival, Angela Merkel flew to the Negev Desert. Along with the Israeli President Shimon Peres, she visited the grave of the founding father of Israel, David Ben Gurion, close to the Sde Boker Kibbutz. The Israeli President pointed out that although David Ben Gurion had said that the Holocaust, or Shoa, must never be forgotten, he had always been at pains to point out that there was another Germany too.

In 1953, after his first term of office as Prime Minister and Defense Minister, David Ben Gurion retired to the peace of Sde Boker. A few months later, however, he returned to the political stage. It was not until 1963 that he finally retired to the kibbutz, which produces wine and runs an adhesive tape factory.

In 1966 Konrad Adenauer visited him there. The two men had together laid the foundations for German-Israeli relations in 1960. Angela Merkel and Shimon Peres also spoke in the living room of David Ben Gurion. The politician’s modest home is today a museum.

Speech in the Knesset

On Monday Merkel will visit the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem before the start of the first German-Israeli government consultations. These will be attended by seven German cabinet ministers. The two sides are to announce projects in the fields of the environment, youth, science, justice, defence and development cooperation.

The highpoint of the Chancellor's visit to Israel will be her speech in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Merkel is the first foreign head of government to whom this honour has been extended. This is the Chancellor’s third visit to Israel since she took office.

March 17, 2008

Links

Bilateral Agreements Reached at the First Israeli-German Intergovernmental Consultations; Chaired by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; Held in Israel on 17 March 2008 (PDF)

Merkel and Olmert in Berlin: Use the Window of Opportunity (February 2008)

David Ben Gurion, Founding Father of the State of Israel

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