- Legal experts warn any Volkswagen arms production linked to Israel could expose both company and Germany to accusations of complicity in international crimes
AMSTERDAM
Experts have warned that a possible cooperation between German automaker Volkswagen and Israeli arms company Rafael to produce components such as launchers and transport vehicles for the Iron Dome air defense system could amount to a violation of Germany’s obligations under international law.
Volkswagen was recently reported to be in talks with Israeli arms company Rafael on a strategic partnership aimed at preserving its Osnabruck plant, which is at risk of closure.
According to a Financial Times report citing sources familiar with the matter, the cooperation would involve producing components for the Iron Dome air defense system, including launchers and transport vehicles, at the facility.
Experts say such cooperation could put Germany in breach of its obligations under international law.
Torsten Menge of Northwestern University in Qatar, investigative journalist Eric van de Beek, and Canadian legal expert Aidan Simardone spoke to Anadolu about the legal risks that could arise from a potential military partnership between Volkswagen and Israel.
Menge said Volkswagen and the German state must take into account the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion issued in July 2024, which underlined that third states are under an obligation not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He stressed that Articles 25 and 26 of Germany’s Basic Law, along with the War Weapons Control Act, explicitly prohibit arms exports when there is a risk they could be used in a manner harmful to peace, particularly for aggression, or when such transfers would violate the country’s obligations under international law.
“In my opinion, any military, security, or arms cooperation with a state that is actively committing genocide, is engaged in acts of ethnic cleansing, and is involved in multiple wars of aggression, violates Germany’s obligations under international law and is illegal under domestic law,” Menge said.
Germany facing ICJ case
Menge recalled that Germany had already been defending itself before the International Court of Justice against Nicaragua's allegations that it had violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention and other fundamental international law standards.
He said that, politically and ethically as well, it would be wrong under such circumstances to cooperate with the Israeli state in any form.
“This is particularly true for weapons deliveries, which in my view amount to aiding and abetting Israel’s crimes. It is true even for the delivery of putatively defensive weapons; I do not think one can make a clean distinction between offensive and defensive weapons when it comes to a military that is engaged in genocide and wars of aggression,” he said.
Volkswagen founded by Nazi regime
Menge also noted that the German state of Lower Saxony is a major shareholder in Volkswagen, which, in his view, creates a particular form of direct complicity.
Recalling that Volkswagen was founded by the Nazi regime and played a central role in arms production during World War II, he said: "It is a particularly cruel irony that it is now considering again (to) produce weaponry for a genocidal and expansionist regime.
"It is sadly symbolic of Germany’s memory culture, which has instrumentalized the memory of the Holocaust and the victims of World War II to support Israel’s settler-colonial and genocidal regime. It will be on all of us -- consumers, German citizens, VW workers, and unions -- to pressure Volkswagen to reject this attempt to turn it into an arms producer again and support Israel’s crimes."
‘Companies can be held accountable under international law’
Simardone also said corporations can be held responsible under international law.
“Corporations have legal personality, meaning they have rights and obligations. When a corporation is sending weapons to a country like Israel, (which) has been involved in not only human rights violations but crimes against humanity, ones that have been documented very, very well, and we know that the weapons are used, are used to engage in crimes against humanity, then it's at that point that a corporation absolutely could be liable, at least in theory,” he said.
He added that since Lower Saxony is one of Volkswagen’s largest shareholders, Germany also bears responsibility. He noted that Germany is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and a signatory to numerous treaties requiring it to condemn war crimes, including genocide.
Simardone said Germany’s support for Israel stems from a sense of historical responsibility for the Holocaust and that in the face of a shrinking automotive sector, it appears to be turning toward the growing defense industry. He warned that this may not produce positive long-term consequences and could place Germany in a position where it is accused under international law of supporting genocide.
Political sanctions against arms companies
Van de Beek said political sanctions can be imposed on arms companies over war crimes committed with the weapons they supply, recalling that the United States and the European Union have sanctioned Russian weapons producer Almaz-Antey.
He said Germany acts out of guilt over the Holocaust, claiming that many Germans believe their country is effectively directed by the US, which is influenced by the Israel lobby in Washington.
He questioned how Volkswagen could plan defense production at a time when it is already struggling with rising energy costs in automobile manufacturing.
According to Van de Beek, the company’s difficulties stem not only from intense competition with China but also from soaring gas prices, the shutdown of nuclear and thermal power plants, and the halt in purchases of cheap Russian natural gas, all of which have rapidly weakened German industry.
*Writing by Mucahithan Avcioglu in Istanbul