Does Europe still love Israel? What war, intelligence, trade and Eurovision tell us about diplomacy

Europe’s relationship with Israel has never been simple. It is shaped by history soaked in blood, by moral claims born from catastrophe, and by institutions that insist on speaking in the language of values while acting through interest. In the aftermath of October 7, those tensions have hardened, exposing fractures between governments and peoples, ideology and reality, rhetoric and reliance.

As Europe’s political centre shifts and its demographics change, Israel finds itself simultaneously condemned in public and depended upon in practice. Accusations of antisemitism collide with strategic cooperation. Recognition of Palestinian statehood sits uneasily alongside intelligence sharing, weapons procurement, and military coordination. The question is no longer whether Europe and Israel disagree, but whether they still understand each other at all.

In this conversation, Jonathan Sacerdoti is joined by former Israeli Ambassador to the EU and NATO Ronny Leshno Yaar, and Professor Sharon Pardo of Ben Gurion University, to examine whether Europe has turned against Israel, or whether the reality is more structurally complex and morally uncomfortable. Drawing on diplomatic experience, academic analysis, and personal history, they explore Europe’s changing identity, the return of antisemitism, Israel’s missteps in European politics, and the quiet depth of cooperation that continues despite the noise.

👁‍🗨 Watch if you want to understand why Europe’s posture towards Israel appears hostile yet remains dependent, and what that means for Israel’s future in a changing West.

💬 We Discuss:

🧭 Why Europe is not a single actor, but a shifting collection of interests, institutions and contradictions

🧬 How Jewish history is embedded in European identity, and why that inheritance is now contested

📉 The return of antisemitism after October 7, and Europe’s failure to confront it structurally

🏛️ How Israel aligned with Europe’s right and what it gained and lost by doing so

🛡️ Europe’s quiet military and intelligence defence of Israel, despite public condemnation

✈️ Why people to people ties, from academia to travel, may matter more than diplomacy

⚖️ Whether Israel can afford deep cooperation with Europe while facing existential political disagreements

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👇 Comment below — can Israel and Europe remain partners if they no longer share a moral language?

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