Those in Israel who are angry over Germany's efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran should keep in mind a few important things: Even back when Germany's foreign minister was Joseph "Joschka" Fischer – considered one of Israel's greatest friends – Germany was prepared to concede on the possibility of Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon.
"We must get used to the idea that Iran will have a bomb," Fischer said over a decade ago, at the height of the European Union's pointless negotiations with Iran over freezing its nuclear program.
This position changed when Chancellor Angela Merkel came to power in late 2005. She played an important role in bringing Russia and China to the forefront of United Nations Security Council efforts to increase sanctions on the Iranian regime – before the U.S. government under President Barack Obama implemented a policy shift to pursue a shoddy, problematic nuclear deal with Iran.
Every time Israel intervened to ask Germany to adhere to international sanctions, Merkel responded positively according to the policy she had established: "The existence and security of Israel are part of the German national interest."
With that, once it became apparent to the Germans and the rest of Europe that the Obama administration was striving for a nuclear deal with Iran no matter the cost, Berlin adapted itself to the new reality.
It is important to note that left-wing elements in Israel pitched in to support the nuclear deal, as part of their blind support for Obama and his policies. As we have seen over the past 25 years, these elements, by changing their tune at the drop of a dime, were and still are able to confuse Israel's good friends. Thus Yasser Arafat went from being a terrorist to receiving a Nobel Peace Prize, and the Iranian nuclear threat became something Israel could accept with the help of a nuclear deal. When Israelis themselves are not on the same page, it is hard to criticize others.
If Israel continues to provide Germany and the international community with evidence that Iran is exploiting the nuclear deal to deceive the world and funding terrorist groups across the Middle East and beyond, Merkel's commitment to Israel's security will be put to the reality wwww. What happens once she is gone is another story altogether.
