According to a recent survey, only 18 percent of Israelis see the European Union as a friend of their country, while 55 percent view it as an enemy. The EU, which sponsored the study, has now set aside some $300,000 for improving its image in the Jewish state. But so long as Brussels devises anti-Israel policies and funds groups with close ties to Palestinian terrorism, no amount of public-relations efforts will make a difference, writes Liora Henig Cohen:
The EU is completely out of sync with Israelis on the issues that strike the deepest emotional chords, and is seen as tone-deaf, at best, in appreciating the Israeli perspective. . . . Europe flirts with boycotts of [Israel] with product labeling [and issues] repeated condemnations of Israeli policy concerning Area C of the West Bank, as if this were the major issue on the EU’s agenda.
Then there is EU and European funding for organizations that delegitimize Israel, including those that have ties to groups that the EU itself designates terrorist entities. [Just last month], the Shin Bet announced it had uncovered a 50-person terrorist network operated in the West Bank by one of these groups, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The statement named several leading PFLP figures who currently or previously worked for European-funded organizations in financial roles. . . .
Recently, the EU and a handful of countries instituted safeguards meant to prevent funds from reaching terrorist groups, including the EU’s introduction of an anti-terrorist clause in its grant contracts. These measures have been met by strident protests from the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian groups, suggesting that Europeans may waffle if they want to remain popular in Ramallah.
Israelis rightfully wonder if European governments would deal so casually with organizations connected to Islamic State.
Read more on Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Does-the-EU-hear-the-Israeli-public-616962