German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that accusing Israel of genocide is "absurd" when he appeared on a long-form podcast interview show, "Jung & Naiv" with journalist Tilo Jung on Friday.
Jung and Scholz conducted a two-hour interview, including approximately 10 minutes on "Israel, Gaza & genocide," amid the snap German elections, which are slated for next Sunday after a no-confidence vote in December 2024.
Tilo Jung asked Scholz about the ongoing International Court of Justice (ICJ) investigations into allegations that Israel is committing genocide and war crimes in Gaza, in the context of how Scholz would act if he is still Chancellor when the rulings are published.
Scholz emphatically stated that he will not get involved in debates over what potential ICJ findings could cause, because, as a lawyer, he has the legal opinion that finding Israel guilty of genocide would be a wrong assessment.
Scholz also stated that while skeptics can hold legitimate criticism of Israel's actions during the war with Hamas, "the genocide accusation is absurd."
Kanzler Scholz zum Thema Völkermord in Gaza und dem IGH: "Ich lasse mich auf diese Debatte nicht ein, weil ich die juristische Einschätzung habe, dass das eine falsche Beurteilung wäre. Es macht gar keinen Sinn sich damit zu befassen [...] Der Völkermord-Vorwurf ist absurd" pic.twitter.com/864QAXiU6E
— Tilo Jung (@TiloJung) February 14, 2025
"It is completely right that we support Israel, including equipping the IDF," he added.
Scholz also discussed national debt, the Russia-Ukraine war, and a "possible US dictatorship," as phrased by the timestamps on the official YouTube video.
Scholz's previous pro-Israel statements
Scholz has been outspoken in his denouncement of Hamas's October 7 massacre and his support for supplying Israel with weapons and aid, including a visit to Israel on October 17, 2023, when he warned Iran and Hezbollah not to get involved in the Israel-Hamas war.
In his October visit, Scholz also stated that "Germany and Israel are united by the fact that they are democratic constitutional states. Our actions are based on law and order, even in extreme situations," as cited by POLITICO at the time.
Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is currently polling in third place behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)/Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) union and far Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) respectively, according to Reuters.
Tilo Jung has previously interviewed those across the spectrum of the Middle East, ranging from hawkish right-wing Israelis to critics such as a founder of Breaking the Silence and UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese.