Why should Israel and the European project shake hands

Menachem Rabinovitz*

After the 1 may 2004, when the European Union emerged from 15 to 25 countries, Israel became only 300 km far from the EU. Two days before, Israel’s leading team Maccabi Tel Aviv, won the European championship in Tel Aviv.
Those two symbols realize the natural ties between Israel and the EU.
Referring to the last European elections, I find Europe confusing, and in a search for a new significant vocation. I will argue that Israel can be an extraordinary and ambitious goal for the European Union.
Rebuilding EU-Israel relations would serve the two sides at once.
The connections between Israel and Europe are flooded by history. No Israeli can escapes history when facing the question of Europe. Also Europe cannot escape the very same dark cloud remaining from the mid of the 20 th century.
We can seriously discuss Israel- EU issue only after challenging and acknowledging this “background music”. But remembering this, we should now move to the future.
I would suggest that the state of Israel is a natural partner for the European union. As the only democracy in the Middle East, inspite of all the well-known problems, accepting Israel to the EU will be a win-win game.
It is true that democracy in Israel can and must prove itself. But one should understand that, after taking into account the sensitive demographic situation with its security implications, Europe has to show greater understanding and a proper respect towards Israel.
As for Europe, the dark clouds of the past should be removed. But bad winds of xenophobia have started to blow. Israel is facing the same challenge of xenophobic and some racist groups which try to gain public support. The absolute majority of Israelis reject those groups. I am sure that a joint fight by Europe and Israel, in the name of democracy and humanity, will be a fruitful one.
Europe could and should help the sane and silent majority in Israel deal with the extremists.
I think that helping Israel on this issue, in a clever way and not a threatening one, would also help Europe to re-establish an active democratic agenda inside Europe itself, focusing the political debate into a value-oriented one.
Practically speaking, I see the European parliament as the right discursive arena for that agenda – as the European institute that has the time, resources and the moral commitment to be a free and rational space for well-argumented public debate.
If there is a valuable mission for the European project, I think that joining forces with Israeli civil society and its the liberal camp can help both sides rise, and could remove some of the main obstacles that presently stand in the way of Israel’s joining the European project in the near future.

Jerusalem, June 23rd 2004


* Menachem Rabinonitz, 35, has a Master in History of Ideas and is a PhD candidate in the field of Policy and Philosophy. He is a graduate of the exclusive leadership two-years programme of the Mandel School in Jerusalem. He is an high school director and an educational adviser. In these days he intends to establish a new think tank in Israel which will promote a rational civil thinking in Israel with co-operation with leading European think tanks like Vision. He is co-author of Vision collection “Il Sonno della Ragione” (Reset 2004).


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Why should Israel and the European project shake hands