ISRAEL: Armored Bygones

“In our worst dreams we did not suspect that Israel—in the 20th year since the start of Hitler’s slaughter of the Jewish people—would send a stream of weapons to rearm the German army,” cried a Tel Aviv newspaper. Israel had contracted to sell 250,000 anti-tank grenade launchers worth $3,300,000 to West Germany’s Bundeswehr. Even coalition parties in the government demanded cancellation of the contract, and Premier David Ben-Gurion faced a no-confidence vote in parliament. Threatening to resign if he did not get his way, Ben-Gurion defended the deal in this fashion: “I distinguish between the Germany of yesterday and the Germany of today.”