One of the most audacious acts of show-off diplomacy this week was carried out by Israel's new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman who headed for Europe. The ultra-nationalist demagogue was received in the capitals of Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic in spite of his outrageous and racist stands on Israel's Arab population, the peace process, and future relations with the Palestinian people who are under Israeli occupation.
The fact that he is being allowed to set foot in Europe is an indictment to everything that the continent stands for today. It is insulting to Arabs and a selling out of the Palestinians and their cause. It is simply bad politics. Instead of shutting their doors to one of the most racist and macabre figures in Israel today, the Europeans are bending over backward and appeasing one of the most hawkish and anti-peace governments Israel has ever known in recent years.
Appeasing Israel is becoming a fixture of European Middle East policy. Individual European policies do not differ much from collective ones. The EC has blinked on many occasions when it came to taking firm stands against Israeli crimes and policies. European politicians and governments will always find excuses, justify aggression and opt for the carrot rather than the stick when it is about Israel.
For years, many Arab politicians and analysts had argued that Europe, in contrast to the United States, could play a more balanced role in solving the Middle East conflict. They concluded that if it wasn’t for US hegemony and unilateralism in the region, European impartiality and adherence to international laws and conventions could have forced Israel’s hands into accepting a just settlement of the Arab-Israel dispute.
They had good arguments too. The EU had always been a couple of steps ahead of America in recognizing Palestinian rights and condemning Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Theoretically, the Europeans had less influence by the Jewish lobbies and action groups than the United States. They had dealt first with the PLO, Yasser Arafat and recognized earlier the core issues preventing a final settlement in Palestine/Israel. To an impartial observer the Europeans had the moral, political and the economic motivations to pursue an end to decades of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories than any other outside party.
But that is mostly myth. As much as Israel was basking in the glory of its special relationship with the United States, Europe had proved more eager to appease the Israelis than the Americans. It was the United States that took the initiative, not Europe, in launching the Madrid peace process. And again it was the Americans who had led the Oslo negotiations to their successful conclusions in the early 1990s. The Europeans stood by as Israel reneged on its commitments under Oslo. They looked the other way as Israel besieged Arafat in Ramallah and finally eliminated him. Again and again the European stand was wanting when it came to Israel’s re-occupation of the West Bank in 2000 and its toppling of the democratically elected Hamas-led government in 2005. Instead of taking tough measures against Israel, the EU was embroiled in discussions on elevating Israel’s membership in the European Union. Not a single punitive action was taken against Israel during its assault on Lebanon in 2006 and its brutal attack on Gaza earlier this year.
In contrast to Europe’s almost unanimous rejection of Austria’s far-right politician Joerg Haider whose Freedom Party joined a government coalition in 2000, the triumph of Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu in Israel's February's elections failed to create a similar backlash.
The sad fact is that instead of action, the Europeans paid lip service to the Palestinians even when projects worth billions of euros in the occupied territories were destroyed by Israel. The Europeans ignored or downplayed Israel’s shameful human rights record against the Palestinians, and instead of confronting Israel they chose reconciliation.
European politicians tend to give Israel the benefit of the doubt even when it is clear that the path the Jewish state is taking contravenes international laws and agreements. It is mind boggling why Israel continues to enjoy that privilege when its actions on the ground; expanding illegal settlements, tearing down the homes of Arab Jerusalemites, imposing a crushing blockade on Gaza among others, go with little criticism or mild rebuke.
This is why Lieberman's visit to Europe is a source of indignation and frustration to all Arabs. It serves no purpose to receive a man whose opinions and stands on the two-state solution, Israel’s commitment to withdrawing from occupied territories and recognizing the rights of millions of Arab Israelis now living in Israel, has become anathema even to a majority of Israelis. What purpose does it serve to receive a racist character who now represents a radical force that threatens future confrontations and regional turmoil?
It is sad that Lieberman will be received in Paris, the capital of a country that has historically supported Palestinian rights and vowed to assist in the quest for the creation of an independent Palestine. No matter what excuses the French will bring about, receiving this fascist figure who is becoming a symbol of the most extreme in Israeli politics will not help course of moderation.
Israel has become Europe’s albatross. A mix of historical guilt and quasi-paternal pride of a state it had helped create account for Europe’s willingness to find excuses for Israel’s transgressions. But in the process of defending its protégé Europe has lost its moral bearing and Lieberman’s tour of its capitals is a blunder that should not have been permitted. It is a blemish and a scandal and nothing can justify it.
Osama Al Sharif is a political commentator based in Jordan.
