Airstrip One

Should Israel join the EU? - 10th December 2002, 21.34

The answer of course is surely not and Ha'aretz provides very sound reasons that would not be out of place in any Eurorealist's train of thought. This article stems from the comments made by Binyamin Netanyahu during his leadership campaign with Sharon late in November.

It is a sad indictment of the EU when it is unable to provide an opening for Israel as the Law of Return privileges Jews above other peoples. This contradicts the corrosive transnationalism pervading Europe that demands a nation must surrender the qualities that render itself unique.

Moreover, the article demonstrates the wide gap in perception between an embattled state suffering terrorism of unprecedented ferocity and continental states that deny any country the right to defend itself.



The gaps between Israel and Europe are also reflected in the perception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EU does not believe that the policies of the Israeli government - according to which, in the absence of any diplomatic horizon or credible Palestinian leadership, the conflict with the Palestinians will only be decided by a prolonged struggle that is based on military strength, determination and steadfastness - will ever bring peace and stability to the region.

Israel is viewed by widespread population groups in Europe as a racist colonial brute, light years distant from the enlightened "New Europe." The attitude is based on an unofficial assessment of the situation according to which Israel is waiting for the propitious moment to carry out a transfer of the Palestinian population - for example, under the cover of the war in Iraq - and that the EU must take strong action to foil this intention.

Senior EU officials believe that beneath the conciliatory and pragmatic exterior, Ariel Sharon is not interested in the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan, and that he is seeking - with the quiet support of the Americans and the energetic encouragement of the Israeli army - to make the Palestinians' lives loathsome, by means of intentional destruction of property and infrastructure that were built with funds donated by the European taxpayer.

The Europeans are afraid that Israel is waiting for a major stumble by the Palestinians - for instance, an expression of support for the Iraqi regime in the instance of a war with the U.S. - in order to pave the way for a sweeping action that would go unnoticed by the West. Even if this assessment is unfounded, the fact that it exists is itself evidence that Israel's moral status is at an all-time nadir.

In European eyes, under the leadership of Sharon, Netanyahu and their colleagues, Israel is capable of carrying out ethnic cleansing, meaning that it is not worthy of inclusion in the European Union. So long as this perception is rooted in the institutions of the EU - which openly yearns for the Labor Party's recapture of the government - the dream of joining the European club will remain in the realm of fantasy.

This widening gap in perceptions stems from a sense of betrayal that Israel feels towards a Europe - a Europe that appears incapable of recognising Arafat as a terrorist and Israel's dreadful siege. Even if the US and Europe still partially sing from the same hymnsheet, large portions of Israeli society are now antagonistic towards Europe and this drive the EU's foreign policy further towards support for the Arabic status quo.