On moral support – Christoph Schult, Klaus Wiegrefe in Der Spiegel:

‘And then he [Scholz] uttered a notable sentence: "Israeli security is Germany’s 'reason of state.'" In other words, Germany’s very existence was linked to Israel’s security.
It was almost the exact formulation that Angela Merkel used during her famous speech before the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in 2008. Since then, there has been plenty of head-scratching and debate: What does the statement mean? Is it an element of foreign policy doctrine? Is it a blank check for Israel, enabling the country to turn to Germany at any time?’

(…)
‘Angela Merkel was under pressure. With the party having just suffered painful losses in state elections in eastern Germany and her adversaries inside the CDU sniffing an opportunity. They believed that Merkel, herself a divorced, childless woman from the east, wouldn’t be able to last much longer as party chair of the conservative CDU.
In Merkel’s favor, though, was the fact that the CDU was preparing its 60th birthday that summer. She was hoping to deliver a special speech that would strike the soul of the party. As the year got underway, she asked her team to come up with a powerful speech, including something about Israel. After all, party godfather Konrad Adenauer had sought close ties to Israel following the Holocaust, which was widely seen as a significant achievement.’

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‘During her tenure in the Chancellery, Merkel even played with the idea of moving to Israel for a time after retiring from politics – specifically to the kibbutz Sde Boker, where Israeli state founder David Ben-Gurion lived after he had left the limelight.’

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‘Merkel’s team had a hard time fulfilling the task their boss had given them. But then, in April, an essay appeared by Rudolf Dressler, a former SPD parliamentarian and now Germany’s ambassador in Tel Aviv. Dressler wrote that he was concerned about anti-Semitism back home, with the piece concluding with the statement: "The secure existence of Israel is in Germany’s national interest and is therefore an element of our reason of state."’

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‘The CDU celebration took place on June 16. Merkel’s position within the party had significantly improved by then and she had been chosen as the conservative candidate for chancellor in the approaching elections. Speaking to her fellow party members, she said: "Germany’s responsibility for European unification, for the trans-Atlantic partnership, for the existence of Israel – all of that is part of our country’s reason of state and part of the reason for our party as well."’

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‘Was the chancellor considering a security guarantee comparable to the NATO mutual defense clause? No, say people close to Merkel today, her intent had been less than that, even if the relationship with Israel was a special one. Just how much less would soon become clear during the 2006 Lebanon War.
Following an attack launched from Lebanon by the Hezbollah militia, Olmert’s reaction was robust. Israel launched a bombing campaign, closed Lebanon’s airspace, set up a sea blockade and, ultimately, sent troops across the border. After just a few days, global public opinion was heavily against Israel. Merkel warned that it should not be forgotten who had triggered the violence, but also demanded that Israel keep destruction "as minimal as possible."
Olmert then inquired whether Merkel would be prepared to send German soldiers to take part in a UN peacekeeping mission at the Israel-Lebanon border. Cease-fire talks had already gotten underway within the UN Security Council. It would have been quite a sensation: Soldiers from the Bundeswehr, the German military participating – 60 years after the Holocaust – in "the force protecting Israel," as Olmert described it.
Merkel said nothing about the request in public for several days. In a telephone conversation with Olmert, she expressed concern that German troops could find themselves in a situation at the border where they would shoot at Israelis – an eventuality, she told the Israeli prime minister, that was unacceptable. Olmert made clear that he thought such a scenario was absurd, which seemed to have its desired effect on Merkel.’

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‘The two of them then spent three hours discussing Lebanon and the peace process. It was a passionate discussion at times, but in the end, they established a working foundation. From that point on, Merkel frequently sent her security adviser Christoph Heusgen and Middle East expert Jens Plötner – who is now Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s security adviser – to the region to provide discrete assistance in the negotiations between Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Today, people close to Merkel say that for her, supporting Israel in reaching a two-state solution was a central element of her understanding of the reason of state formulation.’

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‘Knesset President Dalia Itzik had invited the German chancellor for the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel, receiving Merkel with the words: "I’ve changed the rules for you." Until that point, only heads of state had been allowed to speak in Israeli parliament. But Itzik’s proposed change received unanimous approval. Merkel’s pro-Israeli stance had been making the rounds.
As with other speeches during important state visits, Merkel had the first few words translated into the local language and written out in phonetics. A translator then practiced with her as she was preparing for her appearance: "Anni modda lachem sche-nittan li le-dabber ellechem kaan be-bait mechubad se. Se kawwod gado awurri" – I thank you for the privilege of speaking to you here. It is a great honor for me. She then switched from Hebrew to German.’

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‘And anyway, from a military point of view, Merkel’s promise was rather empty. The Bundeswehr was in deplorable condition at the time and would have been completely unable to provide assistance to Israel in the case of, for example, an Iranian attack. On the other hand, though, Netanyahu didn’t expect such help. "We need military equipment to defend ourselves. We’ll take care of the rest on our own," as one Israeli official said.’

(…)

‘"Under normal circumstances, we do not need the support of anyone. And there is nothing militarily Germany can do that we can’t get from the United States anyway," says ex-Prime Minister Olmert. And yet, Merkel’s formulation does have value: as "moral support."’

Read the article here.

What started as an attempt to bolster Merkel’s standing became official German policy, even though the population had mixed feelings about it and some politicians were not overly enthusiastic about it as well.

I’m pretty sure that the past will fade away and Germany’s special responsibility will change, the question only is when.

For the moment Germany and Israel need each other, but Germany will need Israel less and less and as became clear the last couple of weeks and months: Israel is more and more a liability.