Outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel landed in Israel late Motzei Shabbos on her eighth and final visit to the Jewish state.
Merkel, who has demonstrated unfaltering support for Israel in her over 16 years of office, met privately with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday morning. She then joined the weekly cabinet meeting, where Bennett thanked Merkel for “being a true friend of Israel.”
Merkel jokingly compared Bennett’s coalition to the current government negotiations in Germany by saying: “Compared with your government, a German coalition government seems a very simple matter.”
אנגלה מרקל נכנסת לישיבת הממשלה pic.twitter.com/nVm4zXINTb
— אבי רבינא Avi Ravina (@AviRabina) October 10, 2021
WATCH LIVE: Israel’s Cabinet meeting hosts a special guest — German Chancellor Angela Merkel 🇮🇱 🇩🇪
JETZT LIVE: Sondersitzung des Kabinetts mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel. 🇮🇱 🇩🇪 https://t.co/g31KsJXgyK
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 10, 2021
Following the cabinet meeting, Bennett and Merkel held a joint press conference.
— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) October 10, 2021
On Sunday afternoon, Merkel was hosted for lunch by President Yitzchak Herzog and his wife and visited Yad Vashem.
Today, I hosted Angela Merkel for lunch in Jerusalem to thank her for her long friendship with Israel, including 16 years as Chancellor of Germany. Thanked her for her personal commitment to Israel’s security and Holocaust remembrance. She will always be welcome back in Israel. pic.twitter.com/4AANOIwQYo
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) October 10, 2021
Angela Merkel has been a leading advocate of women's advancement in science and great friend of Israel. There could be no greater tribute to her than the establishment of this honorary fellowship for outstanding female scientists in Israel.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) October 10, 2021
ראש הממשלה בביקור הקנצלרית היוצאת מרקל במוזיאון יד ושם: "השואה מחזקת את העיקרון של העם היהודי – לעולם לא להיות עם חסר מגן"@AmichaiStein1 pic.twitter.com/PnJ0dceVX7
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 10, 2021
She is also scheduled to meet with Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid, meet with leaders of Israel’s hi-tech industry, receive an honorary doctorate from the Technion Institute in Haifa and participate in a panel discussion at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv before returning to Germany on Monday night.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Putrid shame upon 🇮🇱 admitting leader of germany but denying entry to son of a Japanese hero attending awards ceremony at יד ושם in honor of his Father’s.
Israel 🇮🇱 gas lost all scruples of decency and הכרת הטוב