Short answer: Yes. Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021, has been one of Israel's most consistent international supporters. In 2008 she told the Knesset that Israel's security is part of Germany's "Staatsräson" (reason of state) and non-negotiable. She has visited Israel repeatedly, including a November 2025 trip that combined official meetings with President Herzog, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Sa'ar with a tour of October 7 massacre sites, and she has also criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu, both over settlement expansion and, since 2025, over the conduct of the Gaza war, while stating plainly that this criticism does not change her fundamental support for Israel's existence and security. As of August 2026, that remains her position.
What Angela Merkel has actually said and done
March 18, 2008: Merkel became the first German chancellor to address the Knesset. She declared that Israel's security is part of Germany's historical responsibility and "Staatsräson," and that it was "never negotiable" for her as chancellor, according to the official Knesset speech text.
September 2019: Merkel publicly criticized Netanyahu's pre-election pledge to annex the Jordan Valley, saying such a move would violate international law, while Germany's overall alliance with Israel continued, as Euronews reported at the time.
November 26, 2024: In her memoir "Freedom: Memories 1954-2021," Merkel wrote that Netanyahu had "completely undermined" the two-state solution through settlement expansion, calling their disagreements "insurmountable," while writing that she personally liked his predecessor Ehud Olmert. This account was covered by both Haaretz and Middle East Monitor.
June 2025: In a live interview promoting her memoir, Merkel called the Netanyahu government's approach toward Gaza civilians "ruthless," while stating this did not change her fundamental support for Israel, and noting that Israel is criticized disproportionately compared to other conflicts such as Yemen. She made these remarks as reported by Ynetnews, with additional context from Haaretz.
November 2025: Merkel visited Israel, touring the Nova music festival massacre site near Re'im and Kibbutz Nahal Oz, where she met journalist Amir Tibon and his family, who survived the October 7 attack. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Weizmann Institute of Science, which cited her "solidarity and friendship with Israel," according to Ynetnews and the European Jewish Congress.
May 2026: The European Parliament inducted Merkel into its inaugural European Order of Merit as a Distinguished Member, honoring her broader European and diplomatic legacy rather than any Israel-specific action, per Euronews. It is included here only as context on her current standing.
The context behind her position
Merkel's support for Israel is rooted in Germany's post-Holocaust doctrine that Israel's security is a core national interest, a principle known in German politics as "Staatsräson." She articulated it most forcefully in her 2008 Knesset speech, and it has since become bipartisan German policy, carried forward in the language of the current governing coalition. Across her sixteen years as chancellor, from 2005 to 2021, she visited Israel multiple times, deepened diplomatic and defense ties, and consistently affirmed Israel's right to exist and be secure, while also supporting a two-state solution as the long-term resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Her record is not uncritical. She repeatedly pushed back on Israeli settlement policy under Netanyahu, including her 2019 rebuke of a proposed West Bank annexation plan, and her 2024 memoir describes her relationship with Netanyahu as personally and politically strained, in contrast to her warmer account of predecessor Ehud Olmert. Since leaving office, and especially after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and the war that followed, Merkel has criticized aspects of the Israeli military campaign's conduct toward civilians as "ruthless," a notable break from the traditionally restrained public tone former German chancellors tend to keep toward Israel. She has paired that criticism with explicit statements that it does not change her core support for Israel's security and existence, and with concrete gestures of solidarity, most visibly her November 2025 visit to October 7 massacre sites and her acceptance of an honorary doctorate from Israel's Weizmann Institute for her diplomatic support of the country. No public record connects Merkel to Jewish ancestry, conversion, or personal Jewish identity; her connection to Israel is diplomatic and historical, tied to Germany's postwar responsibility, not familial.
The bottom line
Angela Merkel supports Israel's existence and security as a matter of stated German national principle, backed by decades of diplomatic action and a personal 2025 visit to October 7 sites. She is also on the public record criticizing specific Netanyahu government policies, on settlements and, since 2025, on the conduct of the Gaza war. The honest answer to "does Merkel support Israel" is yes, with the caveat that her support has never meant uncritical agreement with any one Israeli government.
Wear your own support for Israel
Whatever you make of any single leader's record, plenty of people want a simple, everyday way to say where they stand. If that is you, our I Stand With Israel collection is a good place to start.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
