Some of the 160 delegates from Germany tell Haaretz that the the five-day, all-expenses-paid trip lacked critical narratives. 'The messages of the delegation was very nationalist ... there were no perspective for diplomacy or peacebuilding,' reports one participant
In mid-November, some 160 young Germans, described as the country's "handpicked future leaders" and representing each German state, were brought to Israel by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Embassy in Berlin for a trip billed as a celebration of 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Their itinerary included receptions and briefings at the Knesset, the President's Residence and the Supreme Court; a visit to Rafael, the weapons manufacturer; meetings with survivors of the October 7 attack; and visits to a kibbutz near the Gaza border and the Nova site.
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Young German leaders deem recent trip to Israel a 'PR operation' run by foreign ministry
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-12-01/ty-article-magazine/.premium/young-german-leaders-deem-recent-trip-to-israel-a-pr-operation-run-by-foreign-ministry/0000019a-da66-d11d-a7bf-fb673fff0000Some of the 160 delegates from Germany tell Haaretz that the the five-day, all-expenses-paid trip lacked critical narratives. 'The messages of the delegation was very nationalist ... there were no perspective for diplomacy or peacebuilding,' reports one participant
In mid-November, some 160 young Germans, described as the country's "handpicked future leaders" and representing each German state, were brought to Israel by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Embassy in Berlin for a trip billed as a celebration of 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Their itinerary included receptions and briefings at the Knesset, the President's Residence and the Supreme Court; a visit to Rafael, the weapons manufacturer; meetings with survivors of the October 7 attack; and visits to a kibbutz near the Gaza border and the Nova site.