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Some Western European countries have recently recognized a fictitious Palestinian state, which Israel’s detractors offer as evidence that even her friends and allies have turned against her. But are these nations truly Israel’s friends and allies?

Western European countries acknowledge that Israel has the right to defend herself, yet they condemn Israel whenever she does so and parrot the most baseless Palestinian claims against her. The standard Western European response to terror attacks on Israelis is a morally bankrupt call for an “end the cycle of violence.” Any Israeli response to Palestinian aggression is condemned as “disproportionate” and met with calls for an immediate ceasefire. Interestingly, Europeans don’t call for a ceasefire in Ukraine. On the contrary, they urge the United States to send ever more weapons so that Ukraine can achieve victory over Russia. Why is it acceptable for Ukraine to seek total victory, but not Israel?

Embargos and Boycotts

Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia have all imposed trade boycotts on Israeli products. These countries, along with the UK, France, Italy and Germany, have imposed partial or total embargos on weapons sales to Israel and in some cases cancelled existing contracts. The European Commission has frozen €32 million in payments and proposed additional measures against Israel; Norway’s sovereign wealth fund announced divestment from some Israeli holdings. By contrast, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab members of the Abraham accords continue to trade with Israel and have not imposed embargos or boycotts. Allies do not boycott and embargo weapons while you are in  war for survival on 7 fronts against genocidal enemies. 

Threats to Arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu 

In November 2023, credible allegations of sexual assault against the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, were made public. To deflect attention from himself, Khan issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant. On August 28 of this year, The Guardian reported that another woman has accused Khan of sexual harassment. Khan was forced to step down temporarily while the ICC investigated the allegations against him.

Nevertheless, European Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell has called on all EU member states to implement the ICC arrest warrant against the Israeli Prime Minister. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain have all indicated they would do so. Germany, Italy, France and other countries have either refused to clarify their positions or say that while they support the ICC, they might be prevented from arresting the Prime Minister due to technicalities. By contrast, the United States does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC and issued sanctions against it, while in Europe only Hungary clearly rejected the ICC arrest warrants. In fact, Hungary withdrew from the ICC over the issue and, like the United States, welcomed PM Netanyahu on state visits. What kind of allies threaten to arrest your elected leaders?  What sort of friends walk out on you and refuse to hear your point of view as Spain and Ireland did during PM Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly on September 26^.  

Long-Standing Hostility Towards Israel 

Some may claim that these actions are a response to the current Gaza war. However, Western Europe’s hostility towards Israel began long before October 7, 2023. 

For decades, France has acquitted or given light sentences to anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic terrorists. France has also refused Israeli requests to extradite PLO terrorists, citing absurd grounds such as their crimes not having occurred in France. In 2011, for example, Lee Zeitouni, an Israeli woman, was murdered in Tel Aviv by two French nationals who fled back to France. France refused to honor Israel’s request for their extradition. 

Europe also has a dark two-thousand-year history of genocidal anti-Semitism which continues today. Openly anti-Semitic demonstrations and attacks are often not classified as such, or are even ignored by European governments. In 2017, for example, a 65-year-old Jewish French woman named Sarah Halimi was murdered in her Paris apartment by her “Allahu Akbar” shouting neighbor, Kobili Traoré. French courts found him “not criminally responsible” for psychiatric reasons because he was known to smoke marijuana. Traoré was never punished or even tried for this cold-blooded anti-Semitic murder. 

Friends and Allies?

The definition of allies is that they come to each other’s defense. Western Europe rarely, if ever, defends Israel in word, much less in deed. To be fair, they won’t even defend themselves. Western Europe is currently in the midst of a deep crisis of identity, public disorder and violence due to mass Muslim immigration. Recently there has been an increasing public outcry against immigrant violence and the attempt to dominate and remake Europe in the image of the failed Muslim states these immigrants fled. Europe’s leftist elites, however, remain in denial, refusing to curtail the mass illegal immigration or impose law and order. Should Israel accept advice on defending herself against Jihadist terror from countries who fail to address it on their own streets? What possible benefit can accrue to Israel, or to the United States for that matter, from such confused, weak allies?  

President Trump long ago came to the same conclusion, which is why he demands that Europeans step up, increase their defense spending, and stop expecting the United States to save their fat from the fire, as she has for over a century. The United States spent much blood and treasure saving Western Europe in WWI, WWII, the Cold War, and now again from the threat of Russia. The Europeans have never and will never defend the United States. They are not allies, but dependents, and ungrateful ones at that. Neither Israel nor the United States can take direction from Western European countries in the midst of societal collapse. We are both better off without such false friends and perfidious allies. 

Original publication

Image source: Getty