A group of German civil servants has written to Prime Minister Olaf Scholz and other ministers, calling on the government to “immediately halt the supply of arms to the Israeli government.”
“Israel has committed crimes in Gaza that are clearly inconsistent with international law and, by extension, with the constitutional obligations of federal civil servants and civil servants,” the statement said, citing a January ruling by the International Court of Justice. There is. Military action is a “plausible act of genocide.”
Organizers of the five-page statement said around 600 civil servants have expressed support for the initiative, which has slowly gained traction over several months through professional networks across various ministries and word of mouth. are collecting.
The statement also called on the German government to pressure Israel for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Renewing payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). It said it would “actively and resolutely advocate the recognition of a Palestinian state” within its internationally recognized 1967 borders.
Germany has approved arms exports to Israel worth 326.5 million euros ($354 million) in 2023, a 10-fold increase from the previous year, and 30% of the Israeli military's weapons, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. provided. The researchers also found that 99 percent of Israel's weapons come from the United States and Germany, with the latter being the second-largest supplier.
Last week, civil servants sent a statement to their ministries via email with a disclaimer: “Due to the sensitive nature of the content and the excessive state repression of criticism in this area, we request anonymity.”
Al Jazeera confirmed the identities of the two initiators, one of whom is a senior executive.
A senior manager described an “atmosphere of fear” within the civil service, saying managers had “never experienced anything like this in 15 years”. Following internal complaints to ministers about support for Israeli war crimes dating back to October, managers were warned not to talk about it. One development director objected to email discussions and suggested using only the phone instead to avoid leaving a paper trail. “It's been hell for all of us,” said the manager, who single-handedly gathered more than 100 signatures through his network of colleagues and professionals.
Signatories reportedly include a wide range of civil servants from various ministries, with a skew toward young women and people with international experience and backgrounds “outside the German bubble.”
Diplomats in particular are said to be concerned about the damage to Germany's reputation and international relations, particularly with Islamic countries.
The group plans to issue a statement on the social networking site LinkedIn on April 8, the day Germany is scheduled to defend itself in The Hague against Nicaragua's accusations that Germany's support for Israel violates the Genocide Convention.
Internationally, there is growing opposition among civil servants to Western aid for Israel. In February, 800 U.S. and European Union civil servants signed a “Transatlantic Statement” warning that Western aid to Israel could be a “grave violation of international law” and ignored expert advice. He complained that he was being
One of the founders of this statement was Angelique Ajpe, who resigned from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs over Gaza policy. She said: “The framework of international humanitarian law has been completely discarded in Gaza, which will undermine our standing in the world.” The Netherlands has lost a lawsuit over the delivery of F-35 fighter jets for use in the Gaza Strip, citing the risk of them being used for war crimes.
“Israel had already made its genocidal intentions clear in October,” Ejipe said. After 21 years as a diplomat, he said, “I tried to speak to the Foreign Secretary immediately afterwards, but when the Foreign Minister carried out this intention and our policy direction did not change, he felt he had no choice but to resign.'' '' he said. The group posted another petition last week and regularly holds protests in front of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another author of the German civil servant statement, a trained jurist, has only lost his job for his involvement in the statement, citing the “total lawlessness” in the country since October 7. instead, they expressed fear of being prosecuted and even imprisoned. People are arrested, sometimes brutally, on false legal grounds. “Germany has no rights at the moment regarding Palestine,” the promoters said.
“We write this letter because… This scale of destruction and violence, the atrocities we are witnessing, is unprecedented in recent times. “If it justifies killings, this is a huge threat to all our democratic institutions,” the promoters said, adding that senior ministers called “the government's collective gaslighting against what we are seeing on the ground”. He added that he was creating it.
Germany's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
