In June 1980, the Venice Declaration was published – a political document that set a dangerous precedent in the European Union’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Though decades have passed, the declaration’s principles, affirming the “legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” and calling for active European involvement, remain a cornerstone of EU policy. Over time, that policy has often shifted from diplomacy to near-automatic backing of the Palestinian side, even at the expense of truth and morality.
The European Union, established after the world wars to safeguard peace, has, in recent years, become a promoter of an anti-Israel narrative. Instead of bridging divides, it deepens them. Instead of mediating, it incites. Instead of addressing real threats, it embraces an imagined Palestinian political vision detached from reality.
Seeking to distance themselves from US policy, European countries gave the PLO legitimacy and centered the idea of a Palestinian state in international discourse. What began as a vague statement evolved into a firm position: support for a two-state solution, even as the so-called “Palestinian state” embraces terrorism and Israel defends its existence.
Since then, the stance has only hardened. The UK, followed by the EU, funds organizations that act against Israel. Before and after October 7, the UK allowed Hamas’s financial infrastructure to operate within its borders. In the European Parliament, calls are growing to boycott Israel and recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally, even as Hamas rules Gaza and as the Palestinian Authority continues paying stipends to terrorists’ families.
On Sunday, Spain hosted a summit of European and Arab countries in Madrid to promote the two-state solution and seek an end to the war in Gaza.
Spain, the summit host, issued a strong message: Immediately suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which underpins trade, scientific cooperation, and diplomatic ties. Spain also urged the EU to quickly recognize a Palestinian state and impose an international arms embargo on Israel unless Jerusalem halts its campaign in Gaza.
Twenty countries participated in the summit, which stemmed from a peace initiative by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez following the October 7 Hamas massacre. One of the EU’s most vocal critics of Israel, Sánchez had already called to “reassess” EU-Israel ties in late 2023. Though that initiative failed, a similar proposal from the Netherlands has since gained traction.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has been meeting with European counterparts in an effort to block the Dutch initiative. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has called for a review of EU-Israel trade relations and for suspension of the agreement under Article 2, which allows such a move if Israel is deemed to be violating human rights.
BUT THE issue goes beyond foreign policy; it reflects a broader social climate. Antisemitism in Europe is no longer subtle. Synagogues are attacked, Jewish schools require security, and Jewish communities live in daily fear. Most disturbing is the justification: “Criticism of Israel” has become a euphemism for antisemitic racism. When IDF soldiers act in Gaza, Jews are attacked in Berlin, Paris, and London.
The line between anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism is more blurred than ever, and many European officials don’t attempt to distinguish between the two. When a Palestinian attacks an Israeli civilian, it’s dismissed as “resistance to occupation.” When a Jew is assaulted, it’s explained as a “natural reaction to anger.”
Europe is undergoing significant social shifts
Meanwhile, Europe is undergoing significant social shifts. Over the past decade, and especially since the 2015 migration wave, Islam has grown not just demographically but ideologically. Entire neighborhoods in France, Sweden, and Germany have become “cultural enclaves,” where local laws are replaced by sharia.
More alarmingly, a political-religious ideology is gaining ground in mosques, schools, and political circles – one that rejects Western democratic values, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, and aims to delegitimize Israel as a “colonial entity.”
Europe is importing an ideology that seeks to change it from within, and its response has been weak. Fear of being labeled racist, electoral opportunism, and cultural paralysis have allowed radical Islam to gradually infiltrate democratic institutions.
The numbers are revealing. Government reports in France and Germany show antisemitism among Muslim youth is significantly above average. Thousands of Muslim Europeans have joined jihadist groups. On university campuses, Jewish professors fear speaking up, students are harassed, and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement dominates student bodies.
Yet the EU continues to focus its political pressure solely on Israel. Hamas receives little criticism. Palestinian Authority incitement is ignored. Terrorism is met with understanding.
When Europe advances a Palestinian vision that lacks accountability, security, or a rejection of terror, it does not foster peace; it sustains conflict. When leaders call for boycotting Israel, they fan the flames of hatred in their own societies. When they legitimize a movement that denies Israel’s right to exist, they empower the ideological forces that see the West itself as an enemy.
To some Europeans, Israel has become a pariah. The postmodern European Left, in its ignorance, fails to grasp how Israel dares to protect its identity, people, and future.
The EU, created to prevent another catastrophe on the continent, is blindly heading toward a dark future of renewed antisemitism, cultural disintegration, and surrender to an ideology that threatens it more than any external adversary.
The Venice Declaration may have once aimed to promote peace, but over time, it has become a symbol of political and moral blindness.
As long as European nations continue to condemn Israel instead of defending it, they are playing into the hands of extremists who endanger not only Israel but their own survival.
The writer is the CEO of Radios 100FM, honorary consul and deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps, president of the Israel Radio Communication Society, and a former NBC News reporter and IDF Radio intelligence analyst.