The relationship between Germany and American/Israeli Jews

During my stay in Germany last summer, I met two interesting friends from Israel, who have been working in Berlin for years. From an outsider's perspective, this scene of me sitting outside a coffee shop in Berlin with two Israelis seemed a bit surreal to me at the time. This confusion was caused mostly by the Holocaust films I've watched throughout the years and the American- influenced mentality towards the Nazis.

However, the attitude towards Germany from American Jews and Israeli Jews are very different. As Avi Primor, a former Israeli ambassador to Germany who travels regularly to the United States, has often told the American Jewish groups how good Israeli-German ties have become. "The reaction is often one of shock, pain and indignation." said Mr. Primor. It seems that the American Jewish community has an inclination to preserve Germany as a negative nation.

Curiously, the situation is very different in Israel. A peculiar friendship between the two countries has been born after the Second World War.  36 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations, Germany has become the second most important ally outside the United States, providing significant support in the military, intelligence, economic, and political spheres.

Despite of this continually growing rapprochement, the effort has never been widely advertised. The reconciliation between Germany and American Jews is not being worked on as much as that in Israel.
"American Jews have always been a step or two behind Israel in understanding Germany's postwar evolution," said David A. Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee.

The ties between Germany and Israel have been intensified in recent years. After the United States, Germany is the second biggest ally of Israel, who, after the war, has quietly provided over $50 billion, machinery, and industrial investment. In addition to being military partners, Germany is also, after the United States, the second largest trading partner.

Germany has put great effort in reconciliating the relationship between the two countries. "We feel co-responsible that the existence of Israel be guaranteed, and the political consequence is that, when in doubt, we side with Israel, because that is our unique duty," said Rudolf Dressler, the German ambassador to Israel.

Nevertheless, the quiet rapprochement between Germany and Israel is not well-known outside the two countries. "The recent negotiations on compensation for slave and forced laborers under the Nazis have left bitterness in Germany," said Deidre Berger, director of the American Jewish Committee in Berlin. He went on saying that, "many German companies feel they are being blackmailed by American Jews. On the other side, there's a lot of enduring prejudice in the American Jewish community-- the prejudice that Germany can never be trusted. "

Though with great effort of reparations between Germans and Jews, it seems that effort has been placed unbalanced. After all, the United States has the second largest Jewish population in the world, but Germany has only been predominantly focusing on the reconciliation with Israel. The efforts are seen by Israeli but not so much by American Jews.

Perhaps, after 5 decades of effort in Israel, it is time for the Germans to put more time and effort in their relationship with American Jews. "The coming-together was a long and painful process," said Mr. Merhav, the retired senior diplomat who is also the member of the Mossad and Middle East scholar. "But postwar Germany won over the body politic of Israel through a constant policy of friendship. American Jews, of course, were never exposed to this sort of practical friendship, and I suspect their anger at Germany is also anger at themselves, for they were very late to realize what was going on in Europe."

What do you think, should be done to enhance the relationship between Germans and American Jews? Do you agree that the Germans have not put enough effort in the U.S., as they have done in Israel?
What could be done?




Quotes and data from NYT