Anyone surprised that clueless Europeans muddle the Middle East again? - by Ken Cohen

If America and Israel have the energy and creativity to adapt the Europeans’ deluded Middle East blueprints to today’s reality, a simple “thank you” from the Europeans would be nice. In the meantime, the European Union should turn inward to confront its own problems—which, by the way, include rampant anti-Semitism and related anti-Zionist passions across the continent. Europe has little concern for Israel’s security, and is advancing tired positions on the Middle East and peace that are long past their sell-by date.

Ken Cohen..
FLAME/JNS.org..
10 February '20..

The world would be much better off if the Europeans focused on the myriad problems on their own continent. Instead, the national and trans-national institutions of Europe insist on inserting themselves gratuitously into distant problems of which they have little understanding and zero political standing.

Exhibit A: The present map of Middle East, reflecting dysfunction within nearly all its borders, is largely the work of the nations that comprise today’s European Union (E.U.). France in particular, along with its World War I ally Great Britain, drew the boundary lines of the Middle East, creating new states and states-to-be under the aegis of the post-war League of Nations.

All evidence is that they made a hash of it, and the turbulence that has wracked the Middle East for decades is attributable to European ham-handedness and cultural ignorance in creating its boundaries and ethnic compositions.

Sadly—but unsurprisingly—the Europeans are still at it, most recently opposing central elements of President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan. Rather than help, the E.U.’s posture is more likely to exacerbate one of the key messes it has sustained year after year.

With the E.U. still in disbelief over the exit of the United Kingdom, E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell nevertheless found the time to critique the Trump plan, stating that “the U.S. initiative departs from internationally agreed parameters.” He singled out the need to address the unresolved final-status issues, like agreements on borders, the status of Jerusalem, and the alleged Palestinian right of return.

In other words, Borrell basically demands that the catastrophic policies of past decades be perpetuated. He may not have noted this, but every prior attempt to address these “final-status issues” has resulted in abject failure—often accompanied by massive bloodletting, as in the case of the second intifada at the beginning of this century.

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Ken Cohen is editor of Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME), which publishes educational messages to correct lies and misperceptions about Israel and its relationship to the United States.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Jews Defending Themselves Seems to Be What Bothers the UN and Europe - by Judith Bergman

The UN and EU, who completely ignored terrorist arson, missiles and general destruction aimed at Israel for the past eight months, have now suddenly woken up. The prospect of Jews defending themselves is more than they can bear.

Judith Bergman..
MiDA..
23 October '18..

As Hamas violence along the border with Israel intensified, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay E. Mladenov, tweeted on Friday that “In light of today’s planned Gaza march, I urge all to exercise restraint, to proceed in a peaceful manner, and to avoid escalation. The UN is working with Egypt and its partners to avoid violence, address all humanitarian issues and support reconciliation”.

The day before, EU ambassador to the UN, Joanne Adamson, said at the UN, “We expect the de-facto authorities in Gaza to do their utmost to prevent further escalation. The EU urges all actors concerned to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life, to prevent any escalation, to not encourage resort to violence, and to not exploit the demonstrations for other means. While recalling Israel’s right to self-defense, we expect the Israeli authorities to respect the principle of necessity and proportionality in its use of force. Serious questions have risen about the proportionate use of force which must be addressed through independent and transparent investigation …Facts must also be established regarding reports about violent attacks against Israel under the guise of the protests”.

“Reports”? The EU apparently thinks that Israel is making it all up, even while acknowledging, a little earlier in the statement that “Launching of incendiary kites and balloons has now continued for over half a year”. Now, they are demanding investigations into whether Israel has used ‘disproportionate force’ against this jihadist attack storm and are calling for Israel to show ‘restraint’?

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Europe: A True Obstacle to Middle East Peace - by Daniel Krygier

Europe’s policies have systematically undermined any prospects of peace in the Middle East. Instead of promoting a conclusion of the conflict, Europe has perpetuated it for ideological and commercial reasons.

Daniel Krygier..
MiDA..
09 August '18..
Link: https://en.mida.org.il/2018/08/09/europe-is-an-obstacle-to-middle-east-peace/

After centuries of colonialism and the devastating Second World War, Europe emerged as a self-appointed superpower of peace and human rights. However, instead of supporting peaceful sister democracies like Israel, the EU has increasingly sided with despotic terrorist regimes like Iran and PLO. By betraying Israel, Europe is ultimately betraying itself and its own fundamental values.

The European Union and the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Britain and France recently declared their opposition to renewed US sanctions against Iran as a result of Tehran’s imperial aggression. This follows an all too predictable pattern where European declarations and deeds do not match.

For a variety of reasons, Europe has devoted more resources and focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict than to any other conflict in the world. In an era when the so-called Arab Spring quickly transformed into a lethal Islamist Winter, Europe continues clinging to the debunked myth of the Arab-Israeli conflict as the mother of all conflicts.

After the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström linked the ISIS attacks to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Throughout the years, numerous European officials have declared that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is a strategic European interest. However, in practice, European policies have systematically undermined any prospects of genuine peace between Arabs and Israelis. Instead of promoting a conclusion of the conflict, Europe has perpetuated it for ideological and commercial reasons.

Europe has painfully experienced the staggering costs of lethal propaganda through Nazism and Communism. Instead of learning from its own violent history, Europe decided to abolish history and reason. The Arab-Israeli conflict was never about particular borders but about Arab rejection of Israel’s right to exist within any boundaries.

EU High Representative Mogherini says Jerusalem is "our common Holy City" for Europeans and Arabs, but not for Jews - by Elder of Ziyon

...Israel doesn't even bother to protest these outrageous and false statements. It should be as energetic and angry at them as Arabs are at any public acknowledgement of Jewish ties to Jerusalem. The EU representative in Israel should be called into the Prime Minister's office to explain these statements every single time they are made.

Elder of Ziyon..
17 April '18..

"As Europeans and Arabs we share in particular an interest in preserving the unique status of our common Holy City, Jerusalem."


Those were the words of EU High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini during the opening session of 29th Summit of the League of Arab States on Sunday.

Not only is the Jewish claim to Jerusalem is not only non-existent, but any claim the Jews have to their capital is less important than that of Europe.

(You know - the continent the Crusaders came from, killing hundreds of thousands of Jews and Muslims. )

Mogherini's outrageous statements to the Arab league didn't end there.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Europe’s Unrepentant Colonialist Obsession with Israel - by Judith Bergman

For all of Europe’s post-colonial guilt, its persistent declarations of what it does and doesn’t find acceptable in the policies of Israel – is the language of an unrepentant colonialist.

Judith Bergman..
MiDA..
21 March '18..
Link: http://en.mida.org.il/2018/03/21/europes-colonialist-obsession-israel/

Israel recently passed legislation giving the Minister of the Interior the authority to revoke the residency of East Jerusalem residents involved in terrorism or espionage. This was immediately met with criticism of the European Union, as often happens when it comes to Israel.

The purpose of the law is to target Hamas members living in East Jerusalem, who are eligible for Israeli welfare benefits. East Jerusalem residents are generally allowed to travel freely and are entitled to the social and insurance benefits of Israeli citizens. They can also vote in municipal — but not national — elections.

“It would have been better if this vote had never happened, but this vote emerged because of a Supreme Court ruling that overturned the decisions of five interior ministers from various parties,” MK Amir Ohana (Likud) explained. MK Ohana was referring to a September 2017 ruling by the Supreme Court. The ruling said that the Interior Ministry did not have the right to revoke the permanent residency status of four East Jerusalem residents with ties to the terrorist group Hamas.

Reacting to the new law, the EU published a statement in which it lamented that, “The new law could make the residency status of Palestinians in East Jerusalem… even more precarious than it already is today. The new law could be used to further compromise the Palestinian presence in East Jerusalem, which would further undermine the prospects of a two-state solution…”

In its statement, the EU assured that it “rejects terrorism in all its forms”.

If it really means what is says with this statement, the EU does so only when the terrorism is directed at anyone other than the Jews. It is difficult to take seriously the EU’s claim of “rejecting terrorism”, given its overwhelming political and financial support of one of the world’s arch terrorists, Mahmoud Abbas.

The EU statement concludes that, “…the European Union does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, including East Jerusalem, and does not consider them to be part of Israel’s territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law. The European Union will closely monitor if and how this new law is applied to Palestinians in East Jerusalem”.

The EU does not recognize that all of Jerusalem belongs to Israel. The question that is hardly ever asked is why Israel should care, one way or the other, whether the EU recognizes Israel’s historical, ancient capital of Jerusalem? Or anything else to do with Israel for that matter.

For all of official Europe’s post-colonial guilt, this kind of language – declarations of what the EU does and does not find acceptable in the policies and actions of the sovereign state of Israel – is the language of an unrepentant colonialist.

Europe's War Against the Jewish State - by Caroline Glick

...During his meeting Sunday with Netanyahu, Macron rejected those suggestions. And that makes sense. Because even if he wanted to supplant the Americans, there is no chance he would succeed. Israel will never permit the Europeans to mediate anything. Their war against Israel internationally and inside of Israel itself has achieved one clear result. The Europeans have convinced Israelis not to trust them, not to admire them, and not to consider them friends.

Caroline Glick..
Our World/Opinion/JPost..
12 December '17..
Link: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Our-worldEuropes-war-against-the-Jewish-state-517771

Europe is the epicenter of the political war against Israel. Europe fights Israel on the streets of Europe. Europe fights Israel in the corridors of power in Brussels, other Western European capitals and the UN. Europe fights Israel in Israel itself.

Europe’s war against Israel is a passive-aggressive campaign fought and denied simultaneously. But in recent years, the mask has fallen over and over again.

In the days that have passed since US President Donald Trump’s dramatic announcement that the US recognizes that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and is beginning to take concrete steps to move its embassy to the city, Europe’s war against Israel has again become impossible to deny or ignore. Europe’s response to Trump’s announcement has been extreme, violent and more outspoken than the response of the Arab world.

The EU-funded Palestinian Authority reacted to Trump’s move by exhorting its subjects to riot and attack Israelis.

Sunday, Yassin Abu el-Qura heeded his call. Qura stabbed Asher Elmalich in the heart and critically wounded him. Elmalich was a security guard at Jerusalem’s central bus station.

According to Channel 2, Qura is a member of a prominent family of Fatah members with close ties to the PA and its EU- and US-funded and trained security forces. His father is the commander of one of the security forces in Salfit, in Samaria. Two of his brothers are also PA security officers.

Around the same time Qura was stabbing Elmalich, the British government announced it was providing the PA with 20 million pounds in supplemental budgetary funding.

Qura’s attack was notable because it took place against the backdrop of lackluster attendance at PA-organized protests. As former US Middle East mediator Aaron David Miller tweeted on Sunday, the low attendance at these demonstrations, like the low attendance at anti-US and anti-Israel demonstrations in the Arab world is an “indication of how much the region has changed [in recent years] and the loss of centrality of [the] Palestinian issue. [The] Palestinian street is exhausted; the Arab street has disappeared.”

But while the Arab street was indifferent to Trump’s declaration, the European street went berserk. Thousands of protesters assembled in London and Paris, in Berlin and Stockholm. They burned Israeli flags and called for the annihilation of Israel and the murder of Jews.

Europe's Compassionate Hatred of Israel - by Bat Ye'or

...The people of Europe will regain their freedom and identity by extricating themselves from this Euro-Arab alliance that joins them in a genocidal scheme against Israel and the West, in which they themselves are both protagonists and victims. Then and only then will they be able to help those Muslims who are bravely struggling to release their brethren from the hatred disfiguring the human face -- jihadi hatred -- and persuade them to accept human diversity. We have neglected these Muslims. They have been fighting alone for both them and us. It is imperative to help them.

Bat Ye'or..
Gatestone Institute..
22 December '16..

Today we are witnessing the coming of the worldwide caliphate. This expression means that the Muslim view of history is currently prevailing in international institutions. We see it with the Jerusalem Declaration of UNESCO, this palace of revisionism. The Jerusalem Declaration seeks to Islamize, with the help of many governments in Europe and other Christian countries, the ancient history of the people of Israel.

The Venice Declaration of 1980, issued by the European Community, which tried to force Israel to survive in an indefensible territory, already prescribed its disappearance and replacement with a people that had never even manifested itself before 1969 -- and all with the assistance of the Soviet Union and especially France. The Islamization of Jerusalem and the delegitimization of the State of Israel were already set out in the Venice Declaration, which to this date the European Union has continued to view as valid.

The Venice Declaration of 1980 was a gift from the European Community to the Arab League, aimed at reestablishing good economic relations with Arab countries, which had been angered by the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979, a peace Europe had not been able to prevent. Jewish holy sites and the survival of the Jewish State were sacrificed by the European Community in exchange for petrodollars.

Since that time, the European Union has expressed remorse for the Holocaust and love and compassion for Israel, but has continued to support, fund and encourage a population whose mission is the destruction of Israel, as proclaimed in its doctrine, and with which Europe is quite familiar...

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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When and if the EU topples, it will give us all reason to rejoice, including Israel - by Michael Freund

...the demise of the EU will mean a return to the idea of the nation-state, which has served as the basis of modern Western civilization. Drunk with the idea of a United Europe with a continental identity, many Europeans openly disdained Israel as a relic of the past because it had been established based on the "archaic" notion that the Jewish people required a country of their own. But as the British, the Hungarians and possibly others go their separate ways, and reassert their own independence, the nation-state will be restored to its proper place in the international system, hopefully divesting some haughty Europeans of their self-righteousness vis-a-vis Israel

Michael Freund..
Pundicity/JPost..
06 October '16..
Link: http://www.michaelfreund.org/19267/eu-israel

Barely a week has passed since the start of October, but this month is already shaping up to be a disaster of epic proportions for the architects of the European Union.

Over the course of just a few hours this past Sunday, the continent's supranational superstructure suffered two damaging body-blows – one in the UK, the other in Hungary – which have further eroded its already shaky foundations.

Like a tower of blocks teetering on the brink of collapse, the 28-nation alliance appears doomed to have a past that is far sturdier than its future, and this is great news as far as Israel is concerned.

Europe, Terror, and Glaring Hypocrisy on Israel - by P. David Hornik

...Although, for now, the focus of Islamic terror has shifted from Israel to Western Europe, Israel’s situation remains precarious. With ISIS in Sinai, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups in Gaza, Hizballah in Lebanon, and a mix of Sunni terror groups, Hizballah, and Iranian militias in Syria, another armed conflict between Israel and terrorists is only a matter of time. And when the time comes, in light of all that has happened since the days of the Second Intifada, will Israel be able to count on Europe to give it support instead of reflexive criticism and pressures to lay down its arms? Despite all, only the very naïve could think so.

P. David Hornik..
Frontpage.com..
27 July '16..
Link: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/263643/europes-glaring-hypocrisy-terror-and-israel-p-david-hornik

Western Europe is now being hit by a wave of terror. Israel has expressed sympathy to the governments and peoples, and is helping or has offered to help the hardest-hit countries—France, Germany, and Belgium—fight the terror.

It has been different when terror has pounded Israel. Even during the five-year onslaught known as the Second Intifada (2000-2005), Europe was sharply critical of Israel and denounced all its terror-fighting methods as immoral.

The contrast is particularly striking in light of some disparities. From the Charlie Hebdo attack on January 7, 2015 to Tuesday’s attack in a church, 239 have been killed in France (pop. 67 million). In the Brussels bombings on March 22 this year, 32 were killed in Belgium (pop. 11 million). Since September 15, 2015, terror attacks (counting the Munich shooting late last week) have killed 15 in Germany (pop. 82 million).

During the five years of the Second Intifada, however, 1000 were killed in Israel (current pop. 8.5 million; even smaller then)—a much higher rate even than France has endured since the start of 2015.

Yet, in the course of those intifada years—and since then as well, including, of course, the Gaza wars—Europe’s criticism of Israel’s fight against terror has been unremitting.

The irony is deepened by the fact that some of the Israeli measures that Europe has most fiercely condemned are now used routinely by European countries themselves—without, of course, having to put up with criticism from Israel or anyone else.

For Israel as well, Europe consists of more than just Western Europe - by Judith Bergman

...Dismissing Europe entirely as a place where support for Israel can be found is a fallacy, even if it is admittedly one that is easy to make in the current circumstances. There are friends of Israel in Eastern and Central Europe, even if their membership of the European Union frequently renders their scope of action limited. This is very important to keep in mind. Too many observers in Israel and elsewhere forget that Europe consists of more than just Western Europe.

Judith Bergman..
Israel Hayom..
30 May '16..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=16265


The rift in the European Union between the older, mostly Western European, members and the newer ones from Eastern Europe has become increasingly clear lately over the refusal of most Eastern European countries to receive migrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

The European Commission has proposed reforms to EU asylum rules that would see financial penalties imposed on members refusing to take in what it deems a sufficient number of asylum seekers, amounting to $290,000 for every migrant. The penalties, if passed, are particularly aimed at the newest EU countries, such as Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, since these are countries who have closed their borders to migrants or are in the process of doing so.

Disagreement over how to respond to the migrant crisis in Europe, however, is not the only issue dividing the Eastern European members of the EU from Western European ones. Israel is another such contentious issue.

Several Eastern European countries, while having pasts rife with virulent anti-Semitism and atrocious records of behavior toward Jews during the Second World War, differ greatly in their policies toward Israel compared to their Western European counterparts. That does not mean that everything they do is in favor of Israel, far from it. The entire EU, including those Eastern European countries, voted in favor of the latest U.N. resolution to slander Israel, when they voted that Israel was the world's only health violator. There must be some diplomats sitting around with very bad tastes in their mouths.

Nevertheless, Eastern European countries today represent the only part of Europe that, out of national interest or a genuine sense of solidarity, stands with Israel in one form or another. This is already saying much on a continent where, for example, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders only recently declared that calls to boycott, divest and sanction Israel are considered by the Netherlands to be "freedom of speech" and therefore legal. (It would appear that there are some serious cognitive issues in the Dutch government: What happens when the calls actually lead to real action, such as municipalities refusing to do business with Israel or refusing to buy Israeli goods and services? Would that be legal, too, according to the foreign minister? As discussed previously in this column, a Spanish court recently declared such municipal boycotts of Israel to be in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, the same convention that Koenders invokes in his condoning of BDS as "free speech.")

In December, Czech lawmakers passed resolutions criticizing the decision by the European Union to label Israeli goods from Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights, and urged the Czech government not to abide by it. Characteristically, all Czech political parties supported the resolutions, even those on the Left, save for the Communists, who in keeping with their Soviet legacy, claimed that the Czech Republic was too complacent towards Israel. In a country like the Czech Republic, which paid a high price for the experiments of Communism for over 50 years, such slogans make a negligible impression.

As the EU’s Economic Hold over Israel Wanes by Evelyn Gordon

...Elected politicians, whose voters expect them to produce economic growth, tend to be much less enthusiastic about economic sanctions against Israel than EU bureaucrats, who aren’t answerable to any electorate. Nevertheless, EU bureaucrats still wield a great deal of power, and they are likely to come up with more anti-Israel measures in the future. Thus over the long term, Israel’s best defense is to sharply reduce its economic dependence on Europe. And as the trade statistics with Vietnam show, Israel is making rapid strides toward doing exactly that.

Evelyn Gordon..
Analysis from Israel..
04 December '15..

The deputy prime minister of Vietnam visited Israel on Wednesday, prompting Jerusalem Post reporter Herb Keinon to delve into some fascinating trade statistics. Bilateral trade between Israel and Vietnam totaled almost $1.1 billion last year, a fivefold increase in just five years, and is now more than double Israel’s trade with Austria and four times its trade with Norway. In fact, Keinon later tweeted, Israel’s trade with Vietnam now exceeds its trade with 21 of the European Union’s 28 member states. And Vietnam is just one country; Israeli trade with other Asian countries has also burgeoned. All of which goes to show that one of Israel’s biggest Achilles’ heels – its economic dependence on an increasingly hostile Europe – is swiftly disappearing.

Taken as a whole, the EU is still Israel’s largest trading partner, but its lead has been shrinking rapidly as Israeli trade with other parts of the globe expands. Moreover, many of the European countries most hostile to Israel are among its least important trading partners. Norway, Sweden, and Ireland, for instance, would star in any list of the most hostile countries, yet each of them conducts less trade with Israel than Vietnam does. In other words, the countries that are most hostile to Israel tend to be those with relatively little ability to cause it economic harm.

Israel has long since ceased to count on Europe for diplomatic support. In international forums, many European countries reflexively back even the most outrageous anti-Israel resolutions, while even Israel’s best friends in Europe rarely do more than abstain. This past May, for instance, every EU country voted for a UN resolution declaring Israel the world’s worst violator of health rights (perhaps they think Israeli hospitals should stop treating Syrian war victims or cancer patients from Hamas-run Gaza?).

A Good Time for Israel to Stop Courting Europe, Turn to Asia

...Such diplomacy need not be an either-or scenario, but just as Washington navel-gazes and forgets that the United States and the targets of our interest are not alone in the sandbox, so, too, do Europeans forget that they are not the world’s moral barometer or the doyens of the elite club with which everyone wants favor. Not only is Southeast Asia booming as many of its countries largely abandon ruinous socialist practices and authoritarianism, but many now also face the same Islamist terror threat which Israel has been confronting for decades. There is a convergence of interests; let us hope that Israeli officials stop wasting undue energy on the Sisyphean task of pleasing European officials inclined to dislike them and recognize that such efforts might lead to greater results with a new eastern push.

Michael Rubin..
Commentary Magazine..
05 July '15..

European officials and European civil society often like to think of themselves as the pinnacle of human rights and morality. In reality, Europe has become a moral vacuum and, once again, a breeding ground for casual hate, racism, and anti-Semitism. This has become clear not only through the example of sophisticated elites like former Irish President Mary Robinson, British Labor politician Jeremy Corbyn, or Daniel Bernard, the late French ambassador to the United Kingdom, but also in the increasing European obsession with stable, democratic Israel, while countries surrounding Israel degenerate into anarchy, generate millions of refugees, promote genocide, and incite and sponsor terrorism.

A lot can be written about why so many in Europe — or, for that matter, within the Obama administration and increasingly among other Democratic stalwarts — have become so hostile to Israel and its ability to defend itself against threats ranging from Hamas, to Hezbollah, to Islamic State and Al Qaeda affiliates in Syria and the Sinai. Perhaps it was the end of conscription in many countries which widened the divide between those with military service and understanding, and those without. Perhaps it was the insulation that developed from having outside powers guarantee security so that individual states seldom had to. Perhaps it’s the legacy of European anti-Semitism, the most virulent kind, which can no longer be masked by European smug self-righteousness. And perhaps it’s the “old Europe, new Europe” divide once described by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Poles, Czechs, and Romanians remember what it is like to live under tyranny while time has diluted “Old Europe’s” understanding of reality.

Israel has long considered itself almost a European country; the European immigration that marked early Zionism shaped that character, even if geography and immigration from Turkey, Iran, India, and the Arab world also bestowed Israel with a Middle Eastern character. Indeed, Tel Aviv is much like Alexandria and Beirut once were, and like Istanbul still is, at least for the time being: a veritable mixing grounds of east and west.

For too long, however, Israel has if not ignored Asia than put it on the backburner. Sure, there was been sporadic outreach to China, but this was both half-hearted and misguided: When it comes to the Middle East, Beijing is the ultimate realist. Immediate commercial concerns means everything, broader principle mean little if anything.

A Truer Understanding of When Relations with Europe will Improve

...If Europe is on Israel’s case, it is not because of human rights or because of democracy. It is because of the geopolitical value of the Arab world and of the electoral weight of European Muslims. Simply put, getting on Israel’s case pays. Precisely because Sweden and its European partners stick to their guns only when doing so does not affect their economic interests, it is hard to take their sermons seriously. The unmistakable conclusion from Europe’s behavior is that once Israel becomes a natural gas exporter, it will be treated differently. Even E.H. Carr could have understood that.

Dr. Emmanuel Navon..
i24 News..
01 April '15..

British historian Edward Hallett Carr is generally known by international relations students as a theoretician who advocated realism in foreign policy. What Carr meant by realism was that there should be no moral dimension to foreign policy, and that statesmen must treat reality as it is and not as they wish it were. Yet the way Carr looked at reality was so delusional that it bordered on insanity: he supported Hitler’s claims and Chamberlain’s appeasement policy in the 1930s; he claimed that Britain could not win the war against Germany; and he praised Soviet communism as a highly successful system which the rest of the world would eventually emulate. While Carr’s writing was mostly nonsensical, he did get one thing right: states are motivated by interests and only evoke morality to justify their foreign policy.

European diplomacy is a case in point. The French and British bombed Gaddafi and spared Assad because Libya is an oil state while Syria is not – and yet Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron claimed that the 2011 NATO operation in Libya was motivated by humanitarian concerns. European leaders and diplomats would have us believe that their foreign policy is based on principles such as human rights and self-determination, yet they dare not criticize occupiers and human rights violators whose business they need. Saudi Arabia can torture bloggers because its oil is indispensable. China can occupy Tibet because it is a world power. Russia can occupy Georgia because no one is going to risk a nuclear war for the independence of this former Soviet republic. Turkey can occupy Cyprus and deny the Kurds their independence because Turkey is a valuable trade partner with temperamental leaders.

European diplomats typically retort that Israel gets different treatment because, as a democracy, it is rightfully judged by higher standards. According to this argument, Turkey is democratic enough to be a NATO member and a potential EU one, but not democratic enough to be asked to end its occupation of Cyprus and to give the Kurds a state.

The gap between theory and practice in European diplomacy was recently confirmed by Sweden’s Middle East policy. In October 2014, Sweden became the first European country to recognize the virtual “State of Palestine.” As a reward, Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, was invited to the March 2015 meeting of the Arab League. Wallstrom prepared a speech in which she said that human rights should be respected in the Arab world too, and she sent a draft to her hosts for review. The speech was vetoed and canceled by Saudi Arabia. The Arab League explained in a statement that Wallstrom’s speech would have been an offense to Islam.

The fury didn’t end there. Saudi Arabia announced that it would not issue new business visas to Swedes, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recalled its ambassador to Sweden. Swedish businessmen started getting nervous and asked their government to apologize to the Saudis. Not that the Swedish government needed to be convinced: it is running for the 2017 UN Security Council bid, and the 22 votes of the Arab League at the General Assembly are critical. So Wallstrom decided to apologize for mentioning human rights. On March 20 she said that she had never meant to criticize Islam and that Sweden wants to preserve good relations with Saudi Arabia.