Indeed, even Merkel herself, who on Sunday begins a three-day visit to Israel together with selected members of her cabinet, recognizes that not all her compatriots share official Germany's warmth for the Jewish state. In a press conference during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to Berlin last month, as Merkel defended Israel's right to respond forcefully to Hamas' rocket fire on Sderot, she also gingerly acknowledged a lack of German empathy for Israelis' security situation.

The gap between traditional elected officials like Merkel, and "Otto Normalverbraucher," the German term for "John Q. Public," is perplexing and disturbing. According to a 2004 study by the respected sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, a majority of Germans (51 percent) believe that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians "is essentially no different from what the Nazis did to the Jews." Similarly, a 2007 BBC poll revealed that 77 percent of the German population has a negative attitude toward Israel.
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A crucial litmus test for moral courage involves what Merkel termed the fight against "mainstream anti-Semitism," and which is currently unfolding, ironically, at the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB, for short, in German), charged with promoting democracy and fighting racism. Dr. Ludwig Watzal, a senior BPB professional, has attacked Israel and Zionism in several publications. In an article in the radical-left magazine CounterPunch last November, for example, he described Israeli historian Benny Morris as encapsulating "all Zionism's major elements, its inherent implausibility as a practical enterprise, its arrogance, racism and self-righteousness."

Dr. Juliane Wetzel, a historian at the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism at the Technical University of Berlin, points to Watzal's "use of anti-Semitic stereotypes," and is concerned that German society has failed to confront Watzal's deep contempt for Israel. A growing number of critics lament that the BPB's director, Thomas Krueger, has been unwilling to dismiss Watzal, contributing to the organization's perception as a paper tiger in the fight against anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism.

The tango continues with a broad spectrum of lively cultural, political, trade union and intellectual-exchange programs between Germany and Israel - which represent an invaluable way to dissolve anti-Israeli resentments and attitudes. "Germany is an ally for us, and not just on the level of politics but on the level of the trade unions," said Avital Shapira-Shabirow, who directs the Histradrut labor federation's international relations department. She noted that the German trade union federation (DGB) has played an important role in "combating efforts to harm Israeli employees and employers with anti-Israeli union boycotts."

German-Israeli relations have also shined in the cultural realm. In 2005, Germany presented the exhibition "New Hebrews: A Century of Art in Israel," in the heart of Berlin. A few years earlier, a meeting between Israeli novelist Zeruya Shalev and German actress Maria Schrader led to the latter proposing to film Shalev's book "Love Life." The resulting movie, which was shot in Cologne and Tel Aviv in 2006, was released in Germany last year. As these examples show, there is no reason why both countries should not redouble their efforts to expand the number of exchange programs.

Arguably the most important step forward in the German-Israeli tango resulted in the sale of two nuclear-capable German-made Dolphin submarines to Israel in 2006, a deal valued at $1.27 billion, a third of which is to be absorbed by the German government. According to U.S. press reports, the submarines would give Israel's navy, for the first time, decisive second-strike capability against an enemy such as Iran. A setback for the Israeli army was Germany's denial of its requests for armored personnel carriers.

Even if it's heavier on ceremony than substance, the visit of the German cabinet next week, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence, has the potential to serve as one of the crowning moments of German-Israeli relations. Merkel will deliver a precedent-setting speech before the Knesset on March 18, and visit Yad Vashem. For the Israeli side, the importance of the private discussions between the chancellor and Prime Minister Olmert will be the opportunity it offers to again bring up the issue of Iran.

Germany consistently remains Iran's most important partner for trade in the European Union, and it is highly active in Iran's technological and energy sectors, which are vital to its nuclear program. If the sale of German technology to Iran is the core impediment to the advancement of German-Israeli relations, the continued delivery of German military technology to Israel is the best means for guaranteeing another 60 years of Israeli existence. The meeting in Jerusalem will surely not be the last tango of the vibrant German- Israeli relationship, but rather another step in the right direction.

Benjamin Weinthal is a Berlin-based independent journalist.