A group of German civil servants has written to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior ministers calling on the government to ‘immediately stop supplying arms to the Israeli government’.
“Israel is committing crimes in Gaza that clearly violate international law and thus the constitution to which we are bound as federal officials and civil servants,” the letter said, referring to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling in January that Israel’s military actions constitute ‘plausible acts of genocide’.
According to the authors of the five-page statement, some 600 civil servants have endorsed the initiative, which has been slowly gaining traction for months through ‘professional networks and word of mouth’ in various ministries.
The statement also calls on the German government to put pressure on Israel for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, to renew its payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and to actively and decisively support the recognition of a Palestinian state within the internationally recognised borders of 1967.
Officials wish to remain anonymous due to ‘climate of fear’
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($354 million) in 2023, a tenfold increase from the previous year, providing 30 per cent of the Israeli army’s weapons. The researchers also found that 99 per cent of Israel’s weapons came from the United States and Germany, with Germany being the second largest supplier.
Officials emailed the revelation to ministries last week, warning that ‘we wish to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the content and the fact that criticism in this area can be subject to extreme state pressure’.
Al Jazeera has confirmed the identities of two of the initiators, one of whom is a senior manager. The senior manager said there was a ‘climate of fear in the civil service’ that he had not experienced in 15 years. Following internal complaints to ministers about support for Israel’s war crimes from October, the manager was warned not to talk about it. One development manager even advised against discussing it by email, suggesting instead that only the telephone be used to avoid leaving a paper trail. “It was hell for all of us,” said the manager, who alone collected more than 100 signatures from colleagues and through his professional networks.
The signatories reportedly include a wide range of civil servants from different ministries, with a predominance of young women and people with international experience or biographies ‘outside the German [political] bubble’.
Diplomats in particular are said to be concerned about damage to Germany’s reputation and international relations, especially with Muslim countries.
Germany on trial for ‘complicity in genocide’
The group will also publish the statement on the social networking site LinkedIn on 8 April (today), when Germany defends itself in The Hague against Nicaragua’s accusations that Germany’s support for Israel violates the Genocide Convention.
Nicaragua’s case against Germany for ‘facilitating the commission of genocide in Palestine’ begins today at the ICJ.
The public hearing at the Peace Palace in The Hague will begin at 10.00. On the first day of the proceedings, Nicaragua will present its oral defence. In tomorrow’s part of the hearing, Germany will respond to the allegations against it.
According to Nicaragua, Germany is ‘complicit in the genocide in Gaza’ by providing political, financial and military support to Israel.
In its petition, the Latin American country accuses Germany of ‘facilitating the commission of genocide’ by cutting funding to UNRWA.
