A news article on the front page of this morning's New York Times reports that "Germany has become Israel's most important ally outside the United States." Well, there's no disputing Israel's ties to Germany, but there's a case that could be made that Turkey is a more important ally to Israel than Germany is. It is closer and more strategically located in the Middle East.
The Times article this morning paints a rosy picture of the German-Israeli relationship, but it neglects to mention two issues that have recently caused some tension between Berlin and Jerusalem. The first is Germany's extensive trade and financial ties with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism and a resolute enemy of Israel. The second is the fact that, since the Social Democrats have replaced the Christian Democrats at the head of the German government, Germany has voted against Israel on several United Nations resolutions. The dispatch in today's Times about "how good Israeli-German ties have become" would have been more credible had it dealt with these difficulties by acknowledging them rather than ignoring them.