Israel-Germany flypast: Unique relationship in the making

Excerpts from an interview with Jeremy Issacharoff, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, who was on site for the occasion:

First of all, it’s an image that has a tremendous amount of power. We are together, going through a place that was of great misery between Germany and the Jewish people. And for many years it’s been a very difficult part of our history to deal with, between Israel and Germany. And I think the image of Israeli soldiers, alongside their German colleagues, and being able to see German fighter jets and Israeli fighter jets flying wing to wing in the skies of Germany is a real sense that we have passed a very major part of history and established a very unique relationship — despite the fact that our history is so difficult. We have been able to transform that burden of history into a real opportune common challenge for peace.

One of the Israeli pilots, whose grandfather was a survivor of Dachau and whose father was a pilot, who was killed while serving in the Israeli Air Force, gave a very moving speech. It was a speech which really gave a very personal moment to a very major event of significant relations between our two countries. That was again a very inspiring moment to see how the memory of Dachau has been translated for this person into a commitment, as he said, towards reconciliation and friendship with Germany.

(The pilots also crossed the Furstenfeldbruck Airfield, where Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israelis during the 1972 Olympic Games.) Well, I was at the time actually 17, and I remember the terrorist attack very well. I think, like everyone else in the world, I remember the sportsmen coming into the stadium in Munich with the flag, being so proud of them — and then seeing the attack happen and how it unfolded and how many of them were killed. When I first became ambassador to Germany, President Reuven Rivlin came here to open the memorial for these athletes. So, it’s been something which I followed very closely and it always had a very deep impact on my sensitivity and on my emotions.

The visit in Dachau was — for now — a very strong part of this ongoing cooperation. The ceremonies which we had today in Dachau included a very significant portion of remembrance and talking about what happened in the Second World War and in the Shoah, and how the relationship between Israel and Germany has developed since then. But these exercises between Israel and Germany are not mainly symbolic. They have tremendous amounts of meaning and also tremendous amounts of cooperation between the two air forces. Both air force commanders are very good friends and developed a very important relationship in exchanging information and discussing techniques and challenges that both air forces face. So, this is not something that is “nice-to-have.” It’s a very real symbol of a growing relationship that is becoming much closer and serving both countries’ interests and values. And, at least, it also remains one of the most important ways of eradicating anti-Semitism when both our peoples come to see how the emerging strategic partnership can serve their interests and contribute to their common values, prosperity and security.