President Reuven Rivlin met Tuesday afternoon at his residence in Jerusalem with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
This follows a mini-drama in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting with the German foreign minister in the wake of Gabriel’s refusal to walk away from a planned meeting with the anti-Israeli, far-left ‘Breaking the Silence’ NGO.
The president welcomed the German foreign minister on his visit to Israel in remarks with reporters prior to their meeting.
“As a leader who is also a teacher, you know the importance of understanding history,” Rivlin said to the foreign minister. “Israel and Germany never had a simple relationship, and we never will. In recent years however, our relationship has become a truly deep and positive one.
Foreign Minister Gabriel — who in 2012 called Israel an ‘apartheid state’ — responded by saying, “It is a great honor for us to have this opportunity to meet you. We are here very much not just to speak, but to listen to your perspective to your country, on the very special relationship between my country and Israel, and also on the region.”
He noted he had arrived on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day and said, “We came here … on a very special day. It reminds us of the special relationship and special responsibility not just today but in the future, to a secure and safe Israel, to support the country which is the country of those who survived the Holocaust. As a society, for us it is necessary to remember there should always be a special support for the Jewish community.” He added, “We are committed to the friendship, partnership, and special relationship with Israel, and nothing will change that.”
During their meeting, however, President Rivlin was more direct, and spoke of the current debate surrounding Gabriel’s visit.
Rivlin stressed that as a democratic state, Israel was familiar with receiving criticism from time to time, but noted that criticism needs to be based in reality.
“Our army is the most moral army in the world,” the president told the foreign minister, and added, “it is an army made up of all our children. We know how to maintain our army as the most moral in the world, and we will continue to do so.
“We know very well the importance of preserving human life, also when we are talking about the lives of citizens of enemy states, and so we reach out our hands, and do all we can to aid the victims of the atrocities just over the border, even when other states who sanctify morality in their words don’t lift a finger.”
The president spoke with the Foreign minister about the security cooperation between the two states. He emphasized, “Carrying the burden of security which has been forced upon us stands at the top of our agenda and we intend to continue to do all that’s required to defend the citizens of Israel.”
The president went on to speak about the rise, and tolerance, of anti-Semitism in Europe — including in Germany — and as the Foreign Minister had noted in his opening remarks, he noted that German society had a duty to support the Jewish community.