Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met Tuesday with the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, as part of his official visit to Berlin. At the end of the meeting, the two ministers made a joint statement to the media, during which Baerbock expressed concern about the steps taken by the government in Israel, including the judicial reform and the possible enactment of the death penalty for terrorists.
"I will not deny that in the world we are concerned about some of the legislative programs in Israel," Baerbock said. "Many countries in the world, including Germany, looked at Israel and saw it as a model for free and liberal democracy. We talked about it today, and I expressed our concern because the values that unite us also include the principles of the rule of law and the independence of the judicial system. Our Minister of Justice emphasized this point during his visit to Israel."
Germany's foreign minister also expressed concern over a planned judicial reform in Israel that could introduce the death penalty in rare cases. https://t.co/hs1akNTEnm
— DW Politics (@dw_politics) March 1, 2023
She also referred to the death penalty law for terrorists that was approved for further discussion and readings this week by the ministerial committee for legislation. "The children in Germany study in the school where Israel used the death penalty only once, against Adolf Eichmann," she noted. "The fact that Israel does not use the death penalty is to Israel's credit, and it would be a grave mistake to break this tradition. I say this as a friend of Israel."
🇩🇪🇮🇱 „Baerbock zur israelischen Justizreform: Wir machen uns Sorgen“
— GeorgeOrwell3 (@george_orwell3) March 1, 2023
Bei einem Besuch des israelischen Außenministers Eli Cohen am Dienstag in Berlin hat seine deutsche Amtskollegin die dort geplante Justizreform
kritisiert. pic.twitter.com/6mL0XVKCFT
According to the statement that came out of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the meeting, the ministers discussed the relations between the countries, as well as the war in Ukraine and the joint fight against the Iranian nuclear issue. Cohen claimed that Germany and the countries of the world should act quickly and decisively against the Iranian nuclear project, through diplomatic and economic sanctions and placing a credible military threat on the table.
🇩🇪🇮🇱 „Baerbock zur israelischen Justizreform: Wir machen uns Sorgen“
— GeorgeOrwell3 (@george_orwell3) March 1, 2023
Bei einem Besuch des israelischen Außenministers Eli Cohen am Dienstag in Berlin hat seine deutsche Amtskollegin die dort geplante Justizreform
kritisiert. pic.twitter.com/6mL0XVKCFT
"The immediate answer to uranium enrichment in Iran should be the return of the severe sanctions on Iran as they were before the signing of the nuclear agreement," the Israeli minister clarified. "In addition, I asked the Foreign Minister of Germany to declare the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization in Germany, as well as in the European Union. I found the Foreign Minister to be receptive to many of the points we raised. Germany stands by Israel on the Iranian issue. Here, too, they understand that only significant political and economic levers, together with a credible military threat, will be able to deliver results against the terrorist regime in Tehran.”
