As had Adenauer in the wake of his 1952 Reparations Agreement, Springer found that in Israel "German money" was not universally welcome. During his first visit to Israel in 1966, Springer proposed a donation of 3.6 million Deutsche marks ($900,000) to The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, which would name an auditorium in his honour. Protesters took to the streets, and the Israeli newspaper "LaMerhav" declared that for the museum to accept money from a German would be a “disavowal of Jewish memory.” (It was ultimately decided that Springer’s generosity should be honoured by a plaque).