At Munich’s synagogue reopening, Friedrich Merz spoke movingly, invoking ’Never again’. Yet without firm backing for the Jewish state and providing military aid, his words risk sounding hollow
September 17, 2025 13:01
It is rare for a German chancellor to show emotion in public, rarer still to be moved to tears. The office usually demands strength, hardness, the refusal to look “weak.”
That applies to Friedrich Merz too, who on Monday evening, at the ceremony marking the reopening of the synagogue on Munich’s Reichenbachstrasse, delivered a remarkable speech. It was a goosebump moment. Merz offered a clear, highly emotional commitment to Jewish life in Germany and to the fight against antisemitism. Some now accuse him of tactical tears, of staging sentiment for political effect.
I don’t believe that. Merz sounded genuine, his emotion credible, when tears overcame him as he described the countless Jewish fates during the Nazi era, forcing him to pause, struggling for composure.
In Munich, Merz invoked “Never again!” with urgency. He vowed Jews would never again be victims. The problem is this: words alone cannot halt today’s violent antisemitism. Things will improve only when words become deeds. And when it comes to Israel – the home of millions of Jews – Merz’s record in office has all too often shown a painful lack of action. This is the chancellor’s great blind spot: the pledge that “Never again shall Jews be victims” must include supporting the Jewish state, not repeatedly leaving it in the lurch.
On Monday night, Merz mentioned Israel only once – and then only to note, rightly, that antisemitism in Germany is not confined to the far right, but also rife within far too many parts of the Muslim community.
But let us recall: Israel is the world’s only Jewish state. And that state faces an existential threat.
Anyone serious about protecting Jewish life cannot at the same time deny Israel the military aid it needs to confront the ultimate antisemitic terrorists – Hamas. By history and by shared values, Israel both deserves and requires that military and political support from Germany.
If the chancellor is serious about protecting Jewish life, then stirring speeches are not enough. Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt put it plainly: “Politics is not just a cerebral exercise; politics is also action.”
A chancellor must take a stand – especially when the wind is against him, when opinion polls point the other way. For German Jews, that wind has blown in our faces for years. Since October 7, as Israel has needed military strength more than at any time in decades, it has howled into a storm.
If Merz means what he says, then at the United Nations he must vote with Israel’s friends, not its enemies – even if Germany is outvoted. He must counter the many blood libels against Israel, whether they come from activists, NGOs, politicians or the UN. That does not mean defending every Israeli action uncritically. But it does mean accepting every accusation against Israel uncritically either. Where there are legitimate questions about accusations against Israel, the German government must speak up. Take yesterday’s UN report: drafted by three “experts” with a record of anti-Israel activism, it twists facts and international law to deliver a guilty verdict. Leave such demonisation unanswered and it feeds antisemitism — for most German Jews are Zionists, and thus become targets of hate.
If he is serious about Israel’s security as a matter of Germany’s Staatsräson, or national interest, then he must deliver the weapons Israel needs to defend its citizens and defeat Hamas.
In Brussels, he must tell his party colleague Ursula von der Leyen that her sudden pivot and proposal to impose sanctions on Israel is a terrible idea. He must not be silent when counterparts in Spain or Ireland demonise the Jewish state and push to expel it from European sport and culture.
If Merz means what he says, then Germany must be a counterweight in Europe – alongside other fair-minded states.
The fight against antisemitism is neither simple nor popular. What is popular today is bashing Israel, demanding one-sided sanctions, and wilfully ignoring that such rhetoric puts Jews here in danger.
A chancellor whose party campaigned with detailed plans to combat antisemitism must deliver more than noble words.
Friedrich Merz said the right things in Munich. But now he must act. He must do the right thing. If he fails, his words are worthless.
Philipp Peyman Engel is editor-in-chief of the Jüdische Allgemeine, Germany’s most important Jewish newspaper
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