The German newspaper Die Welt covered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mid-February visit to Berlin, reporting on the fury felt toward the Israeli leader by the circle surrounding Chancellor Angela Merkel. On April 30, it was the magazine Der Spiegel's turn, publishing a report that the German government is in the midst of a change in strategy regarding Israel and that Merkel definitely “understands” why Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas turned to the United Nations.
Something very bad is taking place in relations between Israel and Germany, Israel's closest ally behind the United States. It is doubtful whether Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold can improve things radically in the series of meetings he is scheduled to hold in Berlin the second week in May. Thus, following the United States, another important Israeli axis is being undermined, this time in Europe.