Reservations expressed in Israel over next Foreign Minister in Germany

"Israeli officials also pointed out that in 2006, Westerwelle opposed the participation of German intelligence-gathering ships and naval personnel in preventing a rearming of Hizbullah as part of UN Security Council resolution 1701 that put an end to the Second Lebanon War."

Source: article by John Milner in EJP

Israeli officials have expressed reservations regarding the leader of the liberal Free Democrats party, who won Sunday’s parliament election in Germany and who is likely to become the next Foreign Minister. [...]

But according to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, some in Jerusalem are concerned about Guido Westerwelle replacing outgoing Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The 47-year-old Westerwelle was born after the Holocaust and as a member of a new generation of Germans, he did not have the same reflexive sympathy for Israel that has characterized other German leaders from the across the political spectrum.

The ‘Mölleman affair’

He joined the FDP as a teenager in 1980, rising swiftly through the ranks to become chairman in 2001 at just 40, the youngest leader amongst the big five parties in Germany.

In 2002, a top FDP politician and head of the German-Arab society, Jürgen Möllemann, distributed flyers attacking former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Michel Friedmann, who at the time was vice president of the Central Council of Jews, the umbrella group of Jewish communities in the country. He accused Friedmann of fuelling the spread of anti-Semitism in Germany, likened Sharon’s military assault on Palestinians to the practices of the Nazis and attempted to justify Palestinian suicide attacks against Israel. Mölleman, considered as an anti-Semite, was accused of pandering to the extreme right to boost his party's chances in the elections.

As the party’s head, Guido Westerwelle, failed to immediately distance himself from Möllemann and only after rising public pressure did he express regret about his attacks. Israeli officials also said that the FDP has been problematic regarding Iran, expressing opposition to sanctions against Teheran. Germany is Iran's largest European trade partner.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli officials also pointed out that in 2006, Westerwelle opposed the participation of German intelligence-gathering ships and naval personnel in preventing a rearming of Hizbullah as part of UN Security Council resolution 1701 that put an end to the Second Lebanon War.