Opposing genocide is not complicated. So why does Germany back Israel unflinchingly?

Germany presents itself as a state reborn from catastrophe. Its Basic Law, drafted in the shadow of Nazism, begins with a sentence that was meant to ensure that the horrors of the past could never recur: “Human dignity shall be inviolable.”

It is the cornerstone of post-war German democracy, a declaration that dignity belongs to every person, without exception. Yet in practice, that promise has been selectively applied. When it comes to Israel’s war on Palestinians, Germany has elevated another principle above human dignity: support for Israel as Staatsräson (reason of state/ raison d’etre), a doctrine that is treated as untouchable.

Olaf Scholz, when he was Chancellor told the Bundestag or German parliament in October 2023, “At the moment there is only one place for Germany, the place, side by side with Israel. This is what we mean when we say the security of Israel is Germany’s Staatsräson.”

That doctrine now sits at odds with the very foundation on which the German republic was built. It also collides with the architecture of international justice.

On July 19. 2024, the International Court of Justice made clear that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land is unlawful and that withdrawal is obligatory. In September 2025, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution noting, “Israel’s policies and actions...

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