The tentacles of the Zionist lobby in Europe

BrusselsThere is a perception that the European Union has little to do in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For example, just over a year ago, European leaders called for... a ceasefire in Gaza for the first time, no one took them very seriously, as if it were a purely symbolic request with no practical effect. Instead, everyone was waiting to hear what the United States was saying. The same is true of the latest calls for arms embargoes from some Member States or review the EU-Israel Association Agreement; they are only taken as diplomatic messages and it is almost assumed that they will lead to nothing.

However, Tel Aviv and the most pro-Zionist lobbies are clear that Brussels does have a say. After Washington, the Belgian capital is where Israel concentrates the most diplomatic efforts and where the most pro-Israeli pressure groups are located. Why? "The EU is Israel's largest trading partner and the main donor of humanitarian aid in Gaza," Inés Abdel Razek, director of the independent Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy, succinctly answers ARA. Furthermore, around 30% of the arms Israel imports come from the EU, mainly from Germany.

Starting in the early 2000s, Zionist lobbies began to gain a foothold in Brussels, which is the headquarters of the main European and NATO institutions. A significant portion of these organizations were already located in the United States, such as the AJC Transatlantic Institute.. There are also pressure groups that emerged under the auspices of lobbyists with a presence in Washington and inspired by the work of these organizations within US administrations, particularly with the aim of directly influencing legislators, such as ELNET, based in Paris but with a strong presence in Brussels. The Atlantic Council.

In this regard, the director of the European Middle East Project (EuMEP) think tank, Martin Konecny, told this newspaper that "there is no other country in the world that has so many lobbies defending its interests," albeit in Washington and Brussels.

In fact, the European Union's transparency register shows that Zionist lobbies, as well as the State of Israel directly, are very active in EU institutions, especially in the European Parliament. In the last legislative period, there are more than 350 meetings with MEPs by pro-Israeli lobby groups or directly Israeli diplomats. And, since the beginning of the current legislative period, which began in the middle of last year, pro-Israeli organizations have already recorded more than 200 meetings. These figures contrast with those of pro-Palestinian organizations, which in the previous legislative period had around 240 meetings and in this one have held just over 100.

As for the European Commission, the differences are repeated, although the intensity of the meetings is much lower. In this legislature there is no record of a single meeting of a pro-Palestinian entity and only one of a Zionist pressure group, the AJC Transatlantic Institute. with the Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs, Croatian conservative Dubravka Šuica. During Ursula von der Leyen's first term in office, the number of such meetings recorded rose to twelve, while the pro-Palestinian meetings fell to three.

The target: the right and Germany

Within the European Union, there is a divergence of opinion regarding the Gaza war. For this reason, Zionist and Israeli lobbies are focusing their efforts primarily on keeping on their side parties and member states that have traditionally been sympathetic to them, such as the right or far right, as well as German, Austrian, Czech, and, among others, Hungarian MEPs. In this regard, MEP sources tell ARA that it is "completely logical" for lobbyists to expend their energy in the European Parliament by convincing those they already know can defend their interests, and not with representatives and authorities who would probably not support them in any way.

The data from the EU transparency portal once again speak for themselves. While MEPs from Germany, which is one of the most pro-Zionist countries Within the EU bloc, in the last legislative period they recorded at least 80 meetings related to Israel; Spanish representatives only recorded 40. And, among the Spanish MEPs, those from the PP during the current legislative period have only met with Israeli authorities and pro-Zionist pressure groups, but with a pro-Palestinian leader. The PSOE, on the other hand, has held some meetings with Israeli diplomats, as well as with pro-Palestinian organizations and Israeli opposition political forces in Benjamin Netanyahu's government. In contrast, the vast majority of meetings between the Spanish and Catalan parties that are part of the Greens political family (such as ERC or BNG) and the Left (Podemos) are with pro-Palestinian organizations.

However, as revealed by the media outlet specializing in investigative journalism Follow the Money, there are many MEPs who do not register their meetings with pro-Israeli organizations. Therefore, MEP sources explain to ARA that some MEPs have repeatedly complained to the Presidency of the European Parliament, held by Maltese conservative Roberta Metsola, but have received no response. "They move with absolute freedom and without much control," they complain. In this sense, it is surprising that no meetings between Vox, a party very close to the most extreme Zionist positions, and Israeli authorities or lobby groups were reported during this term or the second term, and that in general the European far right records few.

Be that as it may, lobbies such as ELNET and the AJC Transatlantic Institute that this newspaper has contacted maintain that they are doing legitimate work defending the interests of the Jewish community and the State of Israel. And, along the same lines, expert Konecny ​​notes that they have the right to do so, but asserts that the "problem" is "to what extent, how, and why" political representatives and community authorities end up embracing their positions and those of the Netanyahu government. "The ultimate responsibility lies with the politicians," Konecny ​​emphasizes.

In this sense, Abdel Razek points out that pressure from Israeli diplomacy and Zionist lobbies "has an effect on the European Union." Although it does not penetrate equally in all member states and political parties, it manages to gain the support of a good part of the European authorities. And, largely due to the division and the lack of a common EU position, the European bloc has barely moved in relation to the Gaza war, continues to supply weapons to the Israeli army, and maintains Israel as a priority trading partner, without any type of sanction.