The relationship between Germany and Israel has once been more carefree.

The Federal Foreign Office speaks of a "friendship that is a gift": Exactly 60 years ago, Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations. The anniversary comes at a challenging time, particularly due to the war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog is expected in Berlin today to celebrate the anniversary. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will then visit Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Such a double visit, as the Office of the Federal President calls it, is historically unique. Both presidents will be accompanied by their wives, Michal Herzog and Elke Büdenbender.

Chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol agreed to establish diplomatic relations on May 12, 1965. This was preceded by a gradual rapprochement between the two states, whose relations had been extremely strained by the Holocaust, the murder of around six million Jews by Hitler's Germany.

Since then, Germany and Israel have established a close network of political, economic, military, scientific, and cultural relations. These are complemented by a lively youth exchange and more than 100 city partnerships. The most recent was just sealed between the German capital Berlin and the Israeli metropolis Tel Aviv. Israel today calls Germany its second most important strategic partner in the world, after the USA.

The normalization of relations is also reflected in mutual visits. In February 2000, Federal President Johannes Rau became the first German head of state to address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Speaking in German, the language of the perpetrators of the Holocaust, he asked for forgiveness for these crimes. He also emphasized: "Shared responsibility for Israel has been a fundamental tenet of German foreign policy since the founding of our state."

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) delivered a speech in the Knesset in March 2008 – the first foreign head of government ever to do so. She, too, emphasized Germany's responsibility for Israel and, echoing Rau, formulated a statement that remains valid today: "This historic responsibility is part of my country's raison d'état."

Another twelve years later, in January 2020, Steinmeier became the first German President to speak at the International Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Memorial. He said he stood here "burdened with great historical guilt," referring to the "industrial mass murder of six million Jews."

Steinmeier will receive Herzog with military honors this morning at Bellevue Palace. A press conference will follow a discussion between the two presidents. Steinmeier and Herzog will later participate in a meeting of German and Israeli youth and commemorate the Jews deported from the platform to labor and concentration camps at the Platform 17 memorial at Berlin-Grunewald station.

In Israel, Steinmeier will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Knesset, among others. A visit to a kibbutz is also planned. He will also visit the new National Library and receive the Israeli President's Medal of Honor.

The anniversary is being celebrated in difficult times. Israel's conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in many civilian deaths, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation there were repeatedly criticized by the previous German government and are also viewed critically by the new one.

The anniversary of bilateral relations is an occasion to celebrate the miracle of German-Israeli reconciliation, the Office of the Federal President stated. At the same time, there is no real celebratory mood. "We view Israel with the greatest concern. We view the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip with the greatest concern."

The Federal President's Office announced that Steinmeier would call on his Israeli partners in his talks to protect the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and respect international humanitarian law. "He also urgently encourages his interlocutors to seek entry into political negotiations."

Herzog recently said in a ZDF interview: "We always consider the pain of people in conflicts, and we comply with international humanitarian law." But one must also understand who Israel is facing. "It's an infrastructure of terror. And it's controlled by Hamas in people's homes, in their living rooms, in their bedrooms."

Israel, for its part, is observing the growing anti-Semitism in Germany with great concern. Anti-Semitism has increased dramatically again since the Islamist Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, as a German government report from December of last year found. "The terrorist attack has also significantly increased the threat posed to Jews in Germany."

A promise that Steinmeier made in his 2020 speech at Yad Vashem seems more urgent than ever today: "We fight anti-Semitism! We defy the poison of nationalism! We protect Jewish life! We stand with Israel!"