President Shimon Peres is making an official state visit in Germany. The symbolism was stark as three German F-15 fighter planes took to the skies to escort the El Al flight carrying the president of the State of Israel, the fighter jets displaying the Luftwaffe Iron Cross. The fighter jets were on hand to make certain the El Al plane approaching Berlin’s airport arrived without incident.

In a related matter, a German firm has canceled its contract to renovate Iran’s Bander Abbas Port, a port that Israeli intelligence reports is used to assist the transport of weapons to terror organizations. Israeli Ambassador to Berlin Ambassador Yoram Ben Ze’ev explained to German officials that the port serves as a stopover for the recent weapons ship apprehended by Israel, the Francop last year.

Israel applied considerable pressure towards the cancelation of the contract since Jerusalem views such contracts as tantamount to assisting terrorism. President Peres will meet with Chancellor Merkel and address the matter of ties with Iran, seeking to persuade Berlin to cut those ties and place an even greater economic stranglehold on Iran.

Peres left for Berlin on Monday ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, using the time for an official visit. Mr. Peres will address the German parliament in Hebrew.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)