Of Anti-Zionists and Antideutsche: The Post-War German Left and Its Relationship with Israel

The semicentennial anniversary in 2017 of the 1967 Middle East War is an occasion to reflect on the impact of a war that brought dramatic changes to the Middle East and beyond. One of the ramifications of the Israeli victory in 1967 was the growing criticism of the Jewish state among the European Left—a movement that held largely positive attitudes regarding Israel up until the so-called Six Day War. These shifting sentiments also affected the relations between the Jewish State and the emerging “New Left” of the young Federal Republic of Germany—a country that would become one of Israel’s most important allies. This article examines the relationship between the German Left and Israel over five decades. It proceeds chronologically by tracing the shifting view toward Israel occasioned by the 1967 war, before examining the evolution of that relationship to the current era. We conclude with a discussion of the drivers behind the complex and uneven relationship, and we argue that these sentiments are closely connected to perceptions of self-identity among members of the German Left.