Benjamin Netanyahu and Germany?s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in meeting in Jerusalem. Image by Haaretz

After the far-right German “Alternative fur Deutschland” party ran up an impressive score in the country’s federal elections, a party leader is questioning the alliance between Germany and Israel – arguing that Israel’s existence should not be understood as a “national interest.”

“If Israel’s existence is part of the German national interest,” said Alexander Gauland at a party conference, “then we would have to be prepared to send German soldiers to defend the Jewish state.”

He continued: “It’s clear that Israel’s existence is an important point for us. But to turn it into a national interest it sounds so simple but there is a continuous war in Israel. The implications of ‘national interest’ is that we would need to be really prepared to sacrifice our lives for the State of Israel.”

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The AfD party contains some elements thought to be allied with neo-Nazis and gained most of its support – 13% of votes in the election – on anti-immigrant appeals. Israel and Germany have had a close relationship since the Holocaust – with Israel receiving direct reparations for the Holocaust and with Germany trading with the Jewish state on favorable terms.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

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