West Europe & Israel: Patterns in Individualism
Protesters hold placards and flags during a pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The conflict between Hamas and Israel has captured the attention of the world, from Copenhagen to Cartajena protests of support or condemnation for one side or another are continuously thrown. From the IR perspective, though, it is certainly well to step back to see the wider picture of how the individual reactions of individual nations lend to a picture of the wider whole.
England, the nation originally responsible for the creation of the modern Israeli state, has thus far condemned Hamas's attack by officially citing Israel's right to defend itself while continuously urging the protection of civilians in Gaza. £20 million in government aid has been dispatched to Palestinian territories with the addendum that Hamas not be involved in aid distribution. The official line of the British government, calling for "humanitarian pauses" to the conflict, was noticeably broken from by Minister Paul Brislow on Oct. 31 in a published letter advocating a total ceasefire resulting in total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian land. He was fired the next day. The reason given for his release was that his statement was “not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility.”
Unlike the official government line, the British public has not been steadfast in their support of Israel — quite the opposite, in fact. Every Saturday since the outbreak of war, London has been filled with thousands of pro-Palestinian peaceful protesters demanding a ceasefire, humanitarian aid to civilians on the Gaza Strip, and withdrawal of Israeli forces. The government response to these protests has matched the tenor of Bristow's firing, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman encouraging police to be more vigilant and more willing to detain protestors for the sake of combating antisemitism.
France has had a notably less consistent government stance. President Macron has both suggested a ceasefire in response to attacks on Palestinian civilians in Qusra and Sawiya, and floated the idea of international coalitions originally assembled to combat ISIL to also fight Hamas. On Oct. 24, Macron visited Israel in person to present his "four-point plan" that aims to prevent escalation, free remaining captives in Gaza, guarantee security for Israel, and work towards a two-state solution to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
France also faces the added complexity of its significant Muslim population of 6 million and a controversial history of their treatment. Most French Muslims are of North African descent, thus relate to Palestinian suffering through the lens of French colonial oppression. Memory of the November 2015 Paris attacks and more recent violent riots following the killing of a young French Muslim by police loom large in the public eye, stoking far-right Islamophobic sentiment and increasing police brutality at pro-Palestine rallies. Simultaneously, very real concerns over the safety of France's Jewish community, which was wracked with hundreds of anti-Semitic acts following Hamas's attack, have led to a ban of pro-Palestine rallies.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, Pool)
Nowhere in Europe has such deep seeded cultural reasons for support of Israel as Germany. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized Israel’s "Staatsräson", which directly translates to "reason of state". On October 18, current Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed this sentiment on a visit to Israel and Egypt. The scars of the Holocaust run to the very core of German society. It comes as no surprise then that Germany has engaged in amongst the most strict responses to pro-Palestinian rallies and protests. Police have been authorized to ban all demonstrations where a potential threat of antisemitism is possible which led to an outright ban of demonstrations from pro-Palestinian groups whatsoever.
Interstate disagreements have arisen on how best to manage the situation as a EU bloc, mostly stemming from what level of support to send, how soon, and where specifically. On Oct. 24, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock blocked a declaration proposed by Portuguese UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that called for an "immediate humanitarian cease-fire". Thanks to such internal disagreement, broader EU action has to this point proven lackluster.
War has elevated questions of free speech, antisemitism, and international responsibility to the forefront producing a difficult to compartmentalize haze of stories. The wider EU public supports humanitarian efforts, memories of their own war torn continent still permeate throughout and civilian death creates a particularly pungent form of abhorrence. Official government responses must abide by international law, which Hamas violated through a coordinated and unprovoked (in the eyes of the international legal community) attack, making anything other than outright support of Israel impossible. Therefore a tightrope must be walked by each government in order to protect Jewish minorities at home, fulfill international commitments, and meet moral standards. Only time can tell the level of success in this endeavor we are destined to see.