Israel Should Be Concerned, but Not Overly Concerned, about Greece’s New Government

The anti-capitalist Syriza party, which emerged victorious from Greece’s recent elections, has strong pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist leanings, which do not bode well for Greek-Israeli relations. However, writes Arye Mekel, Greece is unlikely to make any substantive changes in its relations with the Jewish state any time soon:

Since 2010, Greek-Israeli cooperation has significantly improved during the tenure of both the Socialist and the Conservative governments of Greece. Nowadays, the two countries enjoy a close and intimate relationship in several areas including defense, with air-force and navy joint maneuvers leading the way.

By contrast, Syriza has been very critical of Israel. The party is not made of one cloth, but many of its leaders are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Some party leaders were involved in organizing anti-Israeli demonstrations in Athens during Operation Protective Edge last summer, and at least one of its leaders, Thodoris Dritsas, participated in one of the flotillas to Gaza. . . .

Syriza always takes pains to stress that while it is critical of Israel, it is by no means anti-Semitic, and that it is a staunch critic of the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn. Syriza leaders have regularly attended commemorative events for the Holocaust in Greece. . . .

The new Greek government is unlikely to change its policy toward Israel in the near future. Its main challenge is to find a compromise with the EU [over economic issues] in a manner that will satisfy the Greek public. . . . If they succeed, they will be free to consider other foreign-policy issues.

Read more at BESA Center

More about: Anti-Zionism, Europe and Israel, Greece, Israel diplomacy

What a Strategic Victory in Gaza Can and Can’t Achieve

On Tuesday, the Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant met in Washington with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Gallant says that he told the former that only “a decisive victory will bring this war to an end.” Shay Shabtai tries to outline what exactly this would entail, arguing that the IDF can and must attain a “strategic” victory, as opposed to merely a tactical or operational one. Yet even after a such a victory Israelis can’t expect to start beating their rifles into plowshares:

Strategic victory is the removal of the enemy’s ability to pose a military threat in the operational arena for many years to come. . . . This means the Israeli military will continue to fight guerrilla and terrorist operatives in the Strip alongside extensive activity by a local civilian government with an effective police force and international and regional economic and civil backing. This should lead in the coming years to the stabilization of the Gaza Strip without Hamas control over it.

In such a scenario, it will be possible to ensure relative quiet for a decade or more. However, it will not be possible to ensure quiet beyond that, since the absence of a fundamental change in the situation on the ground is likely to lead to a long-term erosion of security quiet and the re-creation of challenges to Israel. This is what happened in the West Bank after a decade of relative quiet, and in relatively stable Iraq after the withdrawal of the United States at the end of 2011.

Read more at BESA Center

More about: Gaza War 2023, Hamas, IDF