Merz’s blurred division between reasoning and questioning

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spouted several contradictions in his speech on Tuesday to the Bundestag, ahead of the NATO summit which was held at The Hague this week. Germany’s “reason of state,” he said, “is to defend the state of Israel in its existence.” But, he added, “the moment has come to conclude a ceasefire in Gaza.”  Germany, Merz said, will “critically question what goal Israel wants to achieve in the Gaza Strip.” If Germany’s “reason of state” is to support Israel, then Germany is supporting Israel as a settler-colonial, genocidal enterprise. Israel’s entire existence is founded upon ethnic cleansing, dispossession, and replacing the indigenous Palestinians with an international settler population. Like all other countries supporting Israel, Germany is supporting […]