German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Tuesday to sign a new funding agreement for Yad Vashem together with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. Under the agreement, Germany will provide Yad Vashem with €5 million annually, significantly increasing its previous level of support.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office confirmed the visit and emphasized in advance the special importance of German-Israeli relations. Germany and Israel have been closely connected for 60 years, the ministry stated. Germany’s responsibility for Israel’s security and for the Jewish people remains a cornerstone of German foreign policy. Germany is also committed worldwide to combating antisemitism and protecting Jewish life.
The new agreement replaces the previous arrangement signed in 2020. Annual funding will rise from €1 million to €5 million. The additional funds are intended to expand Yad Vashem’s work in Holocaust research, documentation, education and remembrance, while securing important projects for the coming years.
For Israel, Yad Vashem is far more than a memorial. It is widely regarded as the world’s foremost center for the research and documentation of the Shoah. Millions of documents, photographs and survivor testimonies are preserved there, studied by researchers and made available for educational programs around the world. As the number of surviving eyewitnesses continues to decline, this work is becoming increasingly important.
Wadephul’s decision to sign the agreement personally in Jerusalem gives the visit added political significance. Germany is thereby underscoring that Holocaust remembrance and the fight against antisemitism remain central pillars of German-Israeli relations.
The visit comes amid continuing tensions in the Middle East and contentious debates in Europe over Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip. Despite differing positions on certain political issues, Berlin and Jerusalem continue to maintain close dialogue. In this context, the Yad Vashem agreement sends a deliberate message of continuity.
For Israel, German support therefore carries not only financial significance, but considerable symbolic weight as well. It reaffirms Germany’s historical responsibility while providing a reliable foundation for Yad Vashem to continue its research, documentation and educational work at a high level in the years ahead.
The agreement thus underscores Germany’s enduring responsibility to preserve the memory of the Shoah and combat antisemitism—an objective the Federal Foreign Office explicitly describes as an established part of German foreign policy.
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