Europe’s harshest Israel critics aren’t driven by Islamism or antisemitism, report suggests |
Several European countries that are most critical of Israel may not be driven by classical antisemitism or a large Muslim population, as is commonly believed, but a surprising mix of factors not often considered, according to an upcoming report from Tel Aviv University.
The Muslim vote is relatively insignificant in the eight European countries considered most critical of Israel — Ireland, Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain.
But most of them have national narratives that are unencumbered by guilt over the Holocaust, making critiques of the Jewish state less fraught, and their relatively modest foreign policy footprint also means they both receive scant diplomatic attention from Jerusalem and are not putting much on the line by raising their voices against Israel, according to Prof. Uriya Shavit, who edited the study.
The findings are set to be included in an annual report to be published by TAU’s Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, analyzing the year’s significant developments in the fight against antisemitism and racism.
This year’s report, entitled “For a Righteous Cause,” relies on dozens of in-depth interviews with diplomats, professors, and journalists, as well as analysis of public opinion surveys, government statements and media reports.
“Some of the most important insights came from these discussions,” Shavit, who heads the center, told The Times of Israel ahead of the report’s publication. “I would never have imagined, for example, how closely national narratives in Luxembourg and Slovenia support pro-Palestinian sentiments in those countries.”
The governments in question, which the report refers to collectively as the P-8, are those that have emerged as the most consistent and vocal critics of Israel’s military and settlement policies since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023. Many have taken concrete actions, such as formally recognizing Palestinian statehood, calling for European Union-wide sanctions, or suspending arms trade with Israel.
Belgium is unique among the countries on the list for having policies that have actually shifted in Israel’s favor as the war progressed, due to changing domestic political dynamics, Shavit noted.
The report “changes the way we conveniently think about the reasons for the anti-Israeli wave in Europe” and calls for Israel to strengthen its presence in the smaller European countries it has largely ignored, he said.
“There are small and large countries in Europe,” Shavit said. “But there are no unimportant ones.”
Many in Israel, including the country’s leaders, have attributed European criticism of Israel to both ingrained hatred of Jews and political pandering to a growing Muslim population, but according to Shavit, the conception is largely misguided.
“If Europe is being ‘taken over’ by Muslims, as some people claim, you would expect to see a correlation in these countries, but we actually see the opposite,” Shavit said. “That narrative may make life easier for some Israelis, but it oversimplifies things.”
If approximately six percent of Europe’s population is Muslim, as suggested by various surveys, then six of the P-8 countries fall below the European average, according to the report. Iceland is just 1% Muslim, the figure in Ireland is 2%, and Slovenia, Malta, and Luxembourg are 3-4% Muslim. In Spain, slightly........