Debka reports that European ambassadors to Israel have been asked to shlepp up to Jerusalem to receive a "dressing down" at the foreign ministry for voting in favor the GA resolution against the security barrier. Israel is particularly pissed at France (for being the ringleader) and the Netherlands (for bowing to EU pressure against its better judgment).
The point Israel is driving home: EU lost its standing as an "honest broker" in the Arab-Israeli conflict, having deliberately "fall[en] in with the Palestinian position." The European ambassadors are likely to defend themselves by pointing out that a) the resolution was softened to include a reference to terrorism; b) it didn't call for sanctions; and c) this is as far as they're going to take this issue.
I've often thought that diplomacy is childs' play in adult clothing. There is no limit to the petulance, pride, and foolish posturing you see among diplomats.
Without question, Israel feels the need to notify the EU that they stepped over a line. It's one thing to criticize Israel for policies that seem counterproductive, disagreeable or harsh; it's another thing to openly dispute the country's right to formulate and implement such policies. Israel feels, and with some justification, that the EU disrespects Israel's sovereignty.
Much like so many people feel they have a right to pat a pregnant woman's belly, it seems that the Arab-Israeli conflict is everyone's business. In a country where huge conflict and controversy erupt over a few kilometers or even meters, the steady stream of anti-Israeli proclamations must feel detached from any sense of reality. If I ran the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I'd make the ambassadors stand while they were "dressed down."
But I'm not, and I also think that things need to cool down. Recent events in Gaza and around Arafat make it necessary for the EU to adopt a more nuanced policy in the region. In particular, the European countries have to explicitly state that while they disagree with many of Israel's policies, their principled support for Israel's right to exist behind secure borders is inviolate.
This may not be all that believable - all of Europe except Portugal was willing to let Israel be destroyed in 1973 rather than risk an oil embargo - but it eliminates a central uncertainty in the diplomatic discourse, namely whether the EU is not just critical to Israel, but hostile to the Jewish state's existence. If you were to ask Israelis and even non-Israeli Jews, I would guess that most of us would say that Europe is at best indifferent to Israel's safety and existence.
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