Strategic Assessment

Results of the European Union parliamentary elections of May 2019 show that European voters are moving away from the center toward the far right and left. This essay uses the case of the Netherlands to illustrate how political polarization influences the position on Israel in both EU discourse and EU politics. While left wing parties are progressively more critical of Israel, the far right has arguably never been closer. Navigating this shifting political landscape across the EU poses several strategic and moral challenges for Israel’s politicians, with repercussions for the present and the future. The analysis suggests that the Israeli government incurs a risk by identifying closely with Europe’s far right parties due to their controversial character, as this could, in the process, alienate Europe’s Jewish communities as well as Europe’s center and left wing voters.