ISTANBUL
Reports that Volkswagen could manufacture weapons components for Israel have sparked alarm among analysts and rights observers, who warn the move raises serious historical, political, and legal concerns.
According to the Financial Times, German auto giant Volkswagen is in talks with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems over a deal that plans to produce components like launchers and transport vehicles for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system at Volkswagen’s Osnabruck facility.
The project, reportedly backed by Berlin, is aimed at safeguarding around 2,300 jobs, but critics say the economic focus may overshadow broader ethical concerns.
Natalie Scholz, senior lecturer of modern and contemporary history at the University of Amsterdam, said such a shift cannot be viewed as routine.
"It is not a normal thing in post-war Germany to happen... Volkswagen is not a regular private company, and the political responsibility is bigger here even than it would be with any other weapons-producing company."
Jurgen Mackert, a professor of sociology at the University of Potsdam, Germany, said that, while there has been extensive public discussion about the company’s historical responsibility, this appears absent in practice.
"It is simply business and about making profits. If Volkswagen cannot do it with cars, it will do so with arms."
Gaza war concerns
The reported talks have also drawn criticism due to their timing amid Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
Mackert argued that Germany’s political framing of the Gaza war creates the conditions for such decisions.
"As the German political establishment, until today, does not admit that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide but Israel's alleged right to self-defense, therefore Volkswagen has no reason not to produce Israeli weapons."
The academic described the potential deal as a “catastrophe” from both a historical and moral perspective, adding that the “strategic decision” reflects Europe’s willingness to profit from Israel’s Iron Dome system.
Scholz said that it is problematic for the automobile company to go down the path again of producing weapons.
"We are dealing with a country for… who the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the prime minister. It does not… obviously does not make it any less problematic, but adds to the problem."
Legal risks
Legal experts say the reported deal could intensify scrutiny of Germany’s role in supporting Israel, particularly as it faces ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In March 2024, Nicaragua filed a complaint with the court alleging that Germany was aiding and abetting genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by supplying weapons to Israel.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany provided 30 percent of Israel’s major arms imports between 2019 and 2023.
The military assets exported by Germany include naval equipment like Saar 6-class frigates used during the Gaza war.
"Given Germany's complicity and unconditional support for the genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank... as well as its massive contribution to the destruction of international law, there are no red lines left," said Mackert.