Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (right) and EU Foreign Minister Borel
So many smiles around one table have not been seen for a long time, as were viewed two weeks ago in Brussels. It was extraordinary. There were top figures of the European Union on one side, and members of the delegation of the Israeli Foreign Ministry on the other. They were gathered for a diplomatic meeting, a friendly discussion, as was later defined by Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his counterpart, Josef Borel as "the opening of a new page in relations between Israel and the European Union."
This meeting was diametrically opposed to the previous one between these two, and different from the phone conversation between Brussels and Yerushalaim two months ago which was initiated as a comment of Borel's view of IDF activities in reaction to terrorist attacks. When Eli Cohen criticized his words then, the talk reached high decibels and the talks broke down.
The recent meeting in Brussels, by contrast, was considered productive and concluded with the scheduling of a future meeting to be held between the two sides in Jerusalem.
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We spoke with Ariel Kahana, the diplomatic correspondent of the newspaper Yisrael Hayom, who has been carefully following the recent developments.
What happened recently that caused a change is the European relationship?
Things happened but not recently. There is a process taking place, simmering on a back burner, but its details can be found in years past. The first was during the "Arab spring" which shook up the European assessment that the Palestinian issue was the crux of the stability issue of the Middle East.
The latest reason, as of now, is the Russian-Ukrainian War which is on their continent, in Eastern Europe, at their doorstep, when they are suddenly in need of arms. That is why they are turning to us.
The situation where Israel is about to sell arms to Germany and other European countries is no less than a revolution. Only figuratively, Netanyahu told of this during his visit to Germany, the very country where Jews were sent to their destruction in WWII. This is a historic turnabout which is difficult to digest.
Who in the European Union is leading this change of approach towards Israel?
This is most apparent by Joseph Borel, the European Union's Foreign Minister. A cursory check in the archives will reveal a variety of past statements against Israel and its policy in Judea and Samaria, in reaction to which he was even once forbidden to enter Israel. And now he has announced a 'new page' in relations with Israel.
How, in your opinion, will this new page find expression?
Aside from tempering his harsh statements, it will be expressed by a meeting of the Association Council of the European Union, through which economic ties will be forged with Israel, which is undoubtedly very important since the European countries are Israel's prime economic trading partners in any case. One third of Israel export goes to this continent.
Without dismissing what has been achieved, these are still not the main issues.
True, but one cannot ignore the fact of the deep significance that the European Union dropped its linking of developing relationships with us to our policies towards the Palestinians.
It is important to clarify: the European sympathy for the Palestinians, to whom they supply tremendous economic and diplomatic support, is not expected to stop. The EU continues to believe that the Palestinians in Judea and Shomron are subjected to Israeli takeover. It does not yet recognize Israel's claim to East Jerusalem and will continue to do what it can to weaken Israeli control in Judea and Shomron.
What about European intervention in Israeli internal affairs?
Statements like that of the German ambassador, who explicitly supported the protest against the judicial reform, do not seem to me that they will stop altogether in the future. Let us not forget that Germany is one of the strong countries in the Union, and that the European mainstream surely supports the Leftist protests.
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Not to be mistaken," analyst Ariel Kahana notes, "Europe is not going to turn into an America, vis a vis its relation to Israel. The Americans, even including the Biden and Obama Democrats, do not come out and say that the settlements are illegal, as does the EU. But the difference between the American view and that of Europe regarding Israel will probably remain as is, despite the expected and important improvement of mutual relations."
