Friedrich Merz has done something almost unthinkable for a modern European leader: he has chosen virtue over virtue signalling.
At a time when most hide behind stage-managed diplomatic theatre, Merz has dared to say what ought to be obvious: Hamas is the obstacle to a real two-state-solution. Until that it is stripped of power in Gaza, there can be no peace, no security and no Palestinian state worth the name. That is not cruelty; it is realism. And it is the one thing he has got decisively right.
Contrast this with the rest of Europe. Keir Starmer’s recognition of a Palestinian state was trumpeted as an act of courage. But courageous in what sense? To recognise a state while its rulers still celebrate the atrocities of October 7 is not bravery but an abdication from Western values. It is gesture politics masquerading as statesmanship – spraying perfume on decay and pretending the rot has been halted. Worse still, it is a most despicable move while Hamas continues to execute “collaborators” and hold Israeli hostages underground.
Emmanuel Macron has done little better. His attempt to “balance” recognition of Palestinian aspirations with remembrance of Israeli grief is semantic acrobatics. Recognition without demanding Hamas’s removal is nothing but a reward for murderers. These performances may soothe liberal consciences, but they deliver neither peace nor security.
Merz, by contrast, has spoken plainly and kept his cool. He has insisted that Hamas cannot be allowed a role in Gaza’s future and that hostage release and disarmament are non-negotiable. This is not callousness; it is the minimum moral logic of diplomacy.
A peace plan that includes Hamas is not a peace plan at all – it is surrender to fanaticism and rewards the wrong side. And here Germany’s historic responsibility comes into sharp relief. No European nation has a deeper obligation to the security of the Jewish people. For Germans, the Holocaust was not a tragic accident; it was a state-driven programme of annihilation, which can never be allowed to happen again. “Never again” must mean never again allowing Jews to live in fear. Merz’s clarity honours that responsibility far more than the platitudes of his peers.
Yet the bitter irony is that Germany itself is once again becoming dangerous ground for Jewish life. Anti-Semitic incidents are surging. Jewish families whisper about leaving not for economic reasons, but to escape menacing chants and knife attacks. The cause – as in many Western counties – is obvious: decades of uncontrolled immigration, especially from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, have imported into Germany the very hatred against Jews Europe once swore to expunge.
And they have reignited a disturbing form of antisemitism on the Left that many thought had vanished from Germany forever. Walk the streets of Berlin or Frankfurt and you hear it. Demonstrations roar against Israel, the Jews – not Hamas. Germany’s shame is that Jews now feel hunted in the one country that should be their safest refuge.
The contradiction could not be starker. Politicians intone solemn words at Holocaust memorials, then turn away from the fact that millions have been welcomed who openly call for Israel’s destruction. They preach remembrance while cultivating conditions that make Jewish life precarious and dangerous once again. The lesson of history is not statues and speeches; it is vigilance, clarity and the defence of Jewish security in practice.
And yet, even this week the German government showed its confusion. As the BILD newspaper revealed, Reem Alabali Radovan, the centre-Left development minister, returned from the West Bank determined to wire €30 million directly to the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, supposedly because Israel is withholding tax revenues. She claims to have secured approval from both Lars Klingbeil, the finance minister, and the chancellor, Merz. But when she presented the plan to budget negotiators, the CDU rapporteur Inge Gräßle blocked it.
The symbolism is striking. At the very moment German leaders lecture about “lessons of history”, their own coalition is quarrelling over funnelling money into the very structures that enable corruption, incitement and the glorification of terror. Critics mutter that Merz neglects the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. But aid without political reform is meaningless. Hamas diverts resources, indoctrinates children, steers so-called independent journalists into faking death tolls and thrives on perpetual war. To pour money into Gaza while leaving Hamas in charge is to feed the infection while ignoring the cure.
Recognition of a Palestinian state under Hamas is no gift to Palestinians; it is a curse. It entrenches their captivity under men who profit from conflict. If Europe truly wants peace, it must pair recognition with coercion: disarmament, governance reform, and guarantees that extremists are driven from power. That may sound harsh, but it is the only humane path for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Merz’s clarity has given Germany a rare chance to show genuine moral leadership. Whether his nation takes it remains doubtful. But one thing is certain: in the long ledger of political missteps, on Palestine this is the issue Friedrich Merz has got right. And it is here that Europe’s grandees are so shamefully exposed. Starmer and Macron may cloak themselves in the language of justice and balance, but when forced to choose, they have chosen gesture politics over Jewish survival. History will not forgive them for it.
Henry Donovan is an Anglo-German journalist and communications adviser based in Berlin. He previously worked on the political desk of BILD and Die WELT
Friedrich Merz has done something almost unthinkable for a modern European leader: he has chosen virtue over virtue signalling.
At a time when most hide behind stage-managed diplomatic theatre, Merz has dared to say what ought to be obvious: Hamas is the obstacle to a real two-state-solution. Until that it is stripped of power in Gaza, there can be no peace, no security and no Palestinian state worth the name. That is not cruelty; it is realism. And it is the one thing he has got decisively right.
Contrast this with the rest of Europe. Keir Starmer’s recognition of a Palestinian state was trumpeted as an act of courage. But courageous in what sense? To recognise a state while its rulers still celebrate the atrocities of October 7 is not bravery but an abdication from Western values. It is gesture politics masquerading as statesmanship – spraying perfume on decay and pretending the rot has been halted. Worse still, it is a most despicable move while Hamas continues to execute “collaborators” and hold Israeli hostages underground.
Emmanuel Macron has done little better. His attempt to “balance” recognition of Palestinian aspirations with remembrance of Israeli grief is semantic acrobatics. Recognition without demanding Hamas’s removal is nothing but a reward for murderers. These performances may soothe liberal consciences, but they deliver neither peace nor security.
Merz, by contrast, has spoken plainly and kept his cool. He has insisted that Hamas cannot be allowed a role in Gaza’s future and that hostage release and disarmament are non-negotiable. This is not callousness; it is the minimum moral logic of diplomacy.
A peace plan that includes Hamas is not a peace plan at all – it is surrender to fanaticism and rewards the wrong side. And here Germany’s historic responsibility comes into sharp relief. No European nation has a deeper obligation to the security of the Jewish people. For Germans, the Holocaust was not a tragic accident; it was a state-driven programme of annihilation, which can never be allowed to happen again. “Never again” must mean never again allowing Jews to live in fear. Merz’s clarity honours that responsibility far more than the platitudes of his peers.
Yet the bitter irony is that Germany itself is once again becoming dangerous ground for Jewish life. Anti-Semitic incidents are surging. Jewish families whisper about leaving not for economic reasons, but to escape menacing chants and knife attacks. The cause – as in many Western counties – is obvious: decades of uncontrolled immigration, especially from Arab and Muslim-majority countries, have imported into Germany the very hatred against Jews Europe once swore to expunge.
And they have reignited a disturbing form of antisemitism on the Left that many thought had vanished from Germany forever. Walk the streets of Berlin or Frankfurt and you hear it. Demonstrations roar against Israel, the Jews – not Hamas. Germany’s shame is that Jews now feel hunted in the one country that should be their safest refuge.
The contradiction could not be starker. Politicians intone solemn words at Holocaust memorials, then turn away from the fact that millions have been welcomed who openly call for Israel’s destruction. They preach remembrance while cultivating conditions that make Jewish life precarious and dangerous once again. The lesson of history is not statues and speeches; it is vigilance, clarity and the defence of Jewish security in practice.
And yet, even this week the German government showed its confusion. As the BILD newspaper revealed, Reem Alabali Radovan, the centre-Left development minister, returned from the West Bank determined to wire €30 million directly to the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas, supposedly because Israel is withholding tax revenues. She claims to have secured approval from both Lars Klingbeil, the finance minister, and the chancellor, Merz. But when she presented the plan to budget negotiators, the CDU rapporteur Inge Gräßle blocked it.
The symbolism is striking. At the very moment German leaders lecture about “lessons of history”, their own coalition is quarrelling over funnelling money into the very structures that enable corruption, incitement and the glorification of terror. Critics mutter that Merz neglects the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. But aid without political reform is meaningless. Hamas diverts resources, indoctrinates children, steers so-called independent journalists into faking death tolls and thrives on perpetual war. To pour money into Gaza while leaving Hamas in charge is to feed the infection while ignoring the cure.
Recognition of a Palestinian state under Hamas is no gift to Palestinians; it is a curse. It entrenches their captivity under men who profit from conflict. If Europe truly wants peace, it must pair recognition with coercion: disarmament, governance reform, and guarantees that extremists are driven from power. That may sound harsh, but it is the only humane path for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Merz’s clarity has given Germany a rare chance to show genuine moral leadership. Whether his nation takes it remains doubtful. But one thing is certain: in the long ledger of political missteps, on Palestine this is the issue Friedrich Merz has got right. And it is here that Europe’s grandees are so shamefully exposed. Starmer and Macron may cloak themselves in the language of justice and balance, but when forced to choose, they have chosen gesture politics over Jewish survival. History will not forgive them for it.
Henry Donovan is an Anglo-German journalist and communications adviser based in Berlin. He previously worked on the political desk of BILD and Die WELT