Israel Bonds in Germany started their operations in 1956, nine years before diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany were established. The Shoah is not forgotten or forgiven. But today, almost all people who have witnessed those dark times are not alive anymore, and Germany has changed a lot since then. The longer it is in the past, the more abstract it becomes, and nowadays it is just a chapter in schools’ history books.

The new generation of Germans have great sympathy for Jews and the State of Israel. But today, Germany faces different political difficulties. The absorption and integration of masses of refugees coming from countries that are hostile toward Israel has triggered a new form of imported antisemitism, and, due to the large influx of refugees with different cultural and religious backgrounds, segments of the Germany population have become afraid of losing their cultural identity, and therefore tend to support the extreme right political spectrum, which traditionally is not Jew- or Israel-friendly. Despite these complications, in general most of German society is in favour of Israel, and the German government always emphasizes its sympathy and support for Israel, especially when it comes to security issues, especially after October 7^th 2023.

In general, most of German society is in favour of Israel.

While in other countries, the Israel Bonds customer base relies almost entirely on Jewish investors, in Germany it is different. Since we have around 100.000 Jews living in Germany, of which sixty percent are living off welfare, our Jewish customer base is narrow. Fortunately, however, these Jewish Israel supporters are very loyal.

This February edition of KOL is dedicated to highlighting the activities and the team of the German office, so allow me to introduce them to you.

Michael Grauss
Managing Director of Development Company for Israel (Europe) GmbH

I joined Israel Bonds in July 2016. I was a good fit for the position due to my background in banking and management and was able to quickly transform the representative office into a fully functioning branch that later became the headquarters for the sales operations in the European Union. This would not have been possible without the hard work and the dedication of my team.

 

Hanita Ajnwojner
Deputy Managing Director, DCI (Europe) GmbH

Hanita Ajnwojner has been running the office in Germany for over twenty years. She is the soul of our office and knows the Bonds operation inside out. She has established a lot of remarkable relationships with our clients and is so trustworthy that some clients only want to deal with her. They even send their children and grandchildren to us because of their long relationship with us and and our excellent and personal service. She has a lot of experience and a great instinct for how to approach each client.

 

Nava Nadler
Back office and Marketing administration

Nava Nadler joined Israel Bonds in 2018, at first as a part-time administration clerk. She learned and evolved and is now overseeing more and more tasks. She manages the back office, takes care of all marketing issues, and engages with clients. Her dedication is extraordinary, and she is a true asset for our office.

 

Arnon Perlman
International Director

We owe Arnon many thanks for his support and leadership. Due to his tireless efforts, our team is well positioned to make greater strides forward everyday.

 

Womens’ Division

We are indebted to Liat Fleischmann and Eva-Maria Klatt for their contribution and dedication to our Israel Bonds Womens’ Division. We are proud to have them on board, spreading their enthusiasm, commitment and love for Israel.

 

New Leadership

We are so appreciative of the strong commitment and contribution of Stephan Fichtner and Sebastian Hoffmann, who have demonstrated great initiative in planning events. In doing so, they have played a significant role in raising awareness for Israel Bonds. They play an important role when it comes to approaching students and young professionals, as well as opinion-leaders and important personalities.

 

Clients and Supporters

The German office team would like to thank all our clients and friends of Israel Bonds for their support and of course, their loyalty and consistent investment in Israel Bonds.