Israel’s ambassador to Germany has publicly condemned a fellow Israeli official after a heated attack on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that included references to the Nazi era.
Ron Prosor said he wanted to “unequivocally condemn” the remarks by Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right member of Israel’s cabinet, describing the comments as a step that “eroded the memory of the Holocaust”.
The criticism is notable because it represents a rare rebuke by an active Israeli ambassador directed at a senior Israeli political figure. Prosor’s intervention followed Smotrich’s verbal attack on Merz, in which he invoked the Nazi regime and said: “You will not force us into ghettos again.”
The exchange highlights the sensitivity surrounding Holocaust memory in German-Israeli relations and the seriousness with which officials in Berlin and Jerusalem tend to treat language that references Nazi crimes. In this case, the language drew an unusually direct response from Israel’s representative in Germany.
Prosor’s comments focused not only on the political tone of Smotrich’s attack, but also on its historical implications. By linking present-day political disputes to Nazi-era imagery, the ambassador said the remarks risked damaging the way the Holocaust is remembered and discussed.
Smotrich’s statement aimed at Merz was described as a tirade and made explicit reference to ghettos, a term deeply associated with the persecution of Jews under Nazi rule. The phrasing prompted Prosor to distance himself publicly from the minister’s language.
The episode comes against the backdrop of close ties between Israel and Germany, relations that have long been shaped by the legacy of the Holocaust and by the responsibility German leaders have acknowledged toward Jewish people and the state of Israel. That history makes statements invoking Nazi comparisons particularly charged.
While the source does not give further details about the broader political dispute involving Smotrich and Merz, Prosor’s reaction makes clear that he viewed the remarks as crossing a line. His choice of words underscored the diplomatic and historical weight of the issue.
The ambassador’s response also reflects the broader challenge officials face when political rhetoric reaches for analogies from the Holocaust. In Germany especially, such references can be seen as deeply offensive and as contributing to the dilution of historical memory.
By condemning the attack so directly, Prosor signaled concern not only about the immediate argument between Israeli and German figures, but also about the longer-term consequences of using Nazi-era language in political debate.
The public rebuke may also serve as a reminder that even within Israel, there are limits to the use of Holocaust references in political rhetoric. Prosor’s statement placed emphasis on restraint and historical responsibility, particularly when speaking about Germany and its chancellor.
For now, the episode stands as an unusual and pointed moment in diplomatic discourse: an Israeli ambassador criticising a sitting Israeli minister for remarks aimed at the German leader, and doing so in the name of protecting Holocaust memory from erosion.
Prosor’s condemnation of Smotrich adds a diplomatic dimension to a political row that has already drawn attention for the severity of its language. The ambassador’s intervention suggests that, in his view, the damage from such remarks extends beyond immediate politics and into the realm of historical remembrance.
In short, the reaction from Israel’s envoy in Berlin shows how incendiary references to the Nazi period remain, and how quickly they can trigger condemnation even among allies and compatriots. The focus of his criticism was not only the attack on Merz, but the broader harm he believed it caused to the memory of the Holocaust.
