Israeli Fighter Pilots Carry Out Their First Joint Exercises With The Luftwaffe Over Germany

German air force Bundeswehr Eurofighter and Israeli Air Force F-16 jets fly in formation over the Fuerstenfeldbruck airbase in commemoration of the 1972 Olympic Games assassination attempt in Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Times of Israel: Israel Air Force prepares to train with Luftwaffe over Germany for first time

Monday exercise will be air force’s only international drill in 2020; Israeli aircraft to fly over Munich to mark 1972 Olympics massacre, and over Dachau to commemorate Holocaust.

The Israeli Air Force will take part in its first ever exercise in Germany on Monday, flying dozens of sorties with the Luftwaffe and other NATO countries’ air forces, over the course of two weeks, the military said.

This will be the only international exercise to which the IAF will send aircraft this year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

“This exercise has great strategic importance and has immense influence on the air force, the IDF, and the State of Israel. Israeli-German relations and the arrival of Israeli Air Force planes on German soil is a historic event,” the IAF said.

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More News On Israel Carrying Out Their First Joint Exercises With Germany

Israeli Air Force Jets Touch Down In Germany For Historic Air Combat Exercise -- Warzone/The Drive
Israeli aircraft join military exercises in Germany for first time -- UPI
IAF, German Air Force to hold joint drill in Germany for the first time -- Jerusalem Post
In historic tribute, Israeli and German air forces fly over Dachau, Olympic site -- Times of Israel
Israeli fighter pilots carry out first joint exercises in Germany -- Al Jazeera

German Chancellor Merkel’s Gov’t Says Iran’s Vow To ‘Wipe Israel Off The Map’ Is Not Antisemitic

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a joint news conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (not pictured) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, October 2, 2019. (photo credit: MICHELE TANTUSSI/REUTERS)

Jerusalem Post: Merkel’s gov’t says Iran’s call to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ not antisemitic

Wiesenthal Center and NGO Monitor slam Germany for ignoring Iran’s genocidal antisemitism.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has declared that Iran's call to obliterate the State of Israel is not an expression of antisemitism.

On October 1, Merkel’s Foreign Ministry labeled the call to destroy Israel by commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Hossein Salami as “anti-Israel rhetoric.”

When the Post asked the Merkel administration if it agreed with the Foreign Ministry statement, a government spokesman told The Jerusalem Post: “We have nothing to add to the reply of the foreign office.”

The Post had specifically asked if Salami’s statements were antisemitic.

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WNU Editor: Why am I not surprised.

Iran Owns 5% Of The German Company That Is Building Submarines For Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Rahav submarine, the fifth sub in the Israeli fleet, January 2016. Baz Ratner/Reuters

Times of Israel: Report: Iran owns 4.5% share in German company building Israeli subs

Defense Ministry denies knowledge of revelation, which comes as police probe possible conflict of interest by PM’s personal lawyer who represented ThyssenKrupp in Israel

An Iranian government company owns 4.5 percent of the German shipbuilding company at the center of a scandal over its provision of submarines and other services to the Israel Navy, the Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit last week ordered the police to look into allegations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, David Shimron, used his close relationship with the premier to push Israel to purchase several submarines from ThyssenKrupp, award the company a contract for naval vessels to defend Israel’s gas fields, and allow it to build a shipyard in Israel. Shimron was a representative of the company in Israel.

Channel 2 television said that the police inquiry — which is not yet a full-blown investigation — would focus not on the multi-billion-shekel purchase of three Dolphin submarines from the Germany company, which has dominated the headlines, but rather on a separate 2014 Defense Ministry tender for naval ships, also involving ThyssenKrupp, to protect Israel’s Mediterranean natural gas field.

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WNU Editor: I am more surprised that the German government permitted an Iranian government owned company to invest in this German defense contractor.

More News On Iran Owning 5% Of The German Company That Is Building Submarines For Israel

Israel's Navy Sub Scandal Widens; Iranian Ties And Deal-Making Questioned -- Forbes
New controversy hits Israel sub deal over Iran link -- AFP
Report: Iran owns 5% of shares of the German firm building subs for Israel -- Jerusalem Post
Iran Made Millions From German Submarine Maker That Netanyahu Insisted on Buying From -- Haaretz
Israeli Defense Official on Submarine Deal: I Wasn't Aware of Iranian Connection -- Haaretz
Not Only Iran: Abu Dhabi Shipyard Owner Involves In Construction Of Warships For Israeli Navy, Report -- Jewish Business News
Scandals Ahoy -- Times of Israel

Israeli PM Netanyahu Cancels Trip To Germany Due To Deteriating Security Situation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, speaking at an IDF base in the West Bank. Reuters

Haaretz: Netanyahu Cancels German-Israeli Summit Due to Security Situation

Berlin summit to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic ties cancelled, no new date has been yet.

Due to the security situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a summit between the Israeli and German governments that was meant to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties. The summit was set to take place in Berlin on Thursday.

According to a senior official in Jerusalem, Netanyahu conveyed a message to Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying that the security situation requires him to stay in Israel and asking to set a new date for the meeting.

Update #1: Berlin Meeting Between German, Israeli Leaders Called Off -- AP
Update #2: Netanyahu cancels Germany trip due to security situation - sources -- Reuters

WNU Editor: Considering the fact that the Palestinians continue to protest and riot .... coupled with all out war in Syria .... this cancellation is understandable.

Is The German-Israeli 'Special Relationship' Coming To An End?

Rumors Of German-Israeli Nuclear Missile Deal Pique Debate On 'Special Relationship' -- Christian Science Monitor

German leaders have always made support for Israel's security a part of their foreign policy, but as the Holocaust recedes into the past, fewer Germans agree.

"Special Relationship" is a term used to describe the relations between Great Britain and the US, but if ever there were two countries linked by historical events of unparalleled magnitude, it is Germany and Israel. The Holocaust has defined the relationship between the country of the perpetrators and the country of the victims, so much so that German Chancellor Angela Merkel frequently calls the security of the Jewish state Germany’s responsibility, its “raison d’etre” even.

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Previous Post: Operation Samson: Israel's Deployment Of Nuclear Missiles On Subs

My Comment: Germany's baby-boom generation (and some of their parents) will always feel some special obligation towards Israel .... but I have noticed that those who were born later have lost this commitment, and no longer feel obligated to fund programs that compensate families who suffered from Nazi atrocities. As this sentiment continues to grow, is easy to predict that within the next generation (or two) .... this 'special relationship' will be gone.

German Official: Israel And German National Security Interests Are The Same

German Official: Do Not Underestimate The IDF -- Jerusalem Post

Philipp Missfelder, deputy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, tells 'Post' military option against Iran can't be ruled out.

BERLIN – Israel’s vital security interests are integral to the interests of the Federal Republic, according to Philipp Missfelder, the Germany deputy spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party in the Bundestag.

In a wide-ranging telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post on Friday, the Christian Democratic Union deputy covered the pressing security issues unfolding in the Middle East.

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My Comment: What a difference 70 years make. From gas chambers to providing Israel a key element in it's national defense and supporting them diplomatically more than almost any other nation.