Israeli official says EU sanctions reveal antisemitism hiding behind 'socially acceptable mask'

In a recent development, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister has voiced strong criticism against the European Union, accusing it of veiling traditional antisemitism under the guise of anti-Zionism. This comes in response to the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on several Israeli civil society groups that oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Speaking to News Agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel highlighted what she perceives as a troubling shift. “We’ve observed a concerning trend where age-old antisemitism has donned a new, socially acceptable guise: anti-Zionism,” she stated. “Where once the individual Jew was the target, now it’s the collective Jewish state and our inherent right to reside in our ancestral homeland. The political targeting of Israel inevitably spills over into an attack on Jewish life itself,” Haskel asserted.

The European Union’s sanctions targeted four Israeli civil society organizations and three senior figures within these groups, citing their alleged support for “settler violence” and criticism that they jeopardize the prospects of a Palestinian state. One of the affected organizations, Regavim, has condemned the sanctions as an infringement on Israeli sovereignty.

Naomi Kahn, Director of International Division at Regavim, defended the group’s activities, describing them as strictly legal and legislative. “We engage in collecting and analyzing information and policies, then present our findings in court and the legislature to address areas where Israel’s policy may be flawed,” Kahn explained to News Agency.

She further criticized the EU’s actions, suggesting they represent an overreach. “The European Union is attempting to influence the internal political systems and policies of an independent state that is meant to be an ally. They react negatively when we point out the absurdity of the situation,” Kahn remarked.

“The European Union is trying to control the internal political system and policies of an independent state that is supposed to be an ally. When we point out the absurdity of the situation, they don’t like it,” she said.

In its announcement, the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated that “extremist settlers and the organizations supporting them contribute directly to violence, forced displacement and dispossession across the West Bank.”

European Union flags blow in the wind outside the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 27, 2019. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

The sanctions, according to the EEAS, “target entities and individuals that facilitate, finance or support activities contributing to settler violence and serious human rights abuses against Palestinians.”

The statement also accused Regavim of lobbying for “the demolition of Palestinian property” and referenced an EU-funded school in Jabbet al-Dhib near Bethlehem.

Israeli lawmakers condemned a leaked EU document they say reveals illegal EU funding for a Palestinian state, citing construction of an unauthorized school in Area C, which they say violates the Oslo Accords. (Regavim)

Kahn said the school was constructed illegally on Israeli state land in Area C, within a nature reserve connected to the Herodian complex. She said legal proceedings were carried out regarding the structure and that it was ultimately demolished.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, negotiated during the Clinton administration, the West Bank was divided into three areas: Area A, under full Palestinian control; Area B, under Palestinian civil authority with Israeli security control; and Area C, under full Israeli administrative and security control.

Kahn added that an engineering assessment found the school unsafe for use, arguing that placing students and teachers inside it posed “downright dangerous” conditions.

A view of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, a region discussed by evangelical Christian leaders urging the Trump administration to recognize Israel’s claim to the area. (TPS)

“We pointed out that the E.U. and the Palestinian Authority are simply violating the law in a very purposeful, systematic way to take control of Area C using structures like schools, sometimes mosques, and homes of innocent people that they push into those areas,” she added.

Regavim has published a report claiming there are 100 illegal schools in Area C that it says are being used by the P.A. as part of a broader strategy of de facto annexation.

Separately, a 2023 mapping study by Regavim estimated that roughly 103,000 unauthorized Arab-built structures exist across the West Bank, asserting that the P.A.—often with external support — has facilitated extensive illegal construction activity.

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The West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria, is home to some 500,000 Israelis.  (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

In response, Israel’s cabinet last month approved a set of broad measures aimed at countering efforts by the P.A. to establish de facto control over disputed territories.

Under the resolution, initiatives attributed to Ramallah to create a parallel land registry in Area C were declared to have no legal validity or standing.

“The real target here is not violence, but legitimate political opposition. The sanctioned organizations do not support violent action; rather, they have consistently challenged the concept of a two-state solution and exposed how the EU actively builds illegal structures in Judea and Samaria,” Haskel said, referring to the biblical names of the territories,” Haskel said.

She accused the EU of disregarding the Oslo Accords and “attempting to unilaterally alter facts on the ground to steal Israeli land.”

Sharren Haskel speaking at a podium

Sharren Haskel, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Israel accused the EU of disregarding the Oslo Accords and “attempting to unilaterally alter facts on the ground to steal Israeli land.” (@Sharren Haskel via X)

Haskel acknowledged there was an issue, as in any society, “with some individuals who break the law, but emphasized they represent a small minority and that Israel investigates and prosecutes them. She said grouping hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Israeli residents in the West Bank together with Hamas — a genocidal terror organization responsible for mass murder — distorts moral distinctions.”

She said, “This creates a false and dangerous symmetry that minimizes the exceptional threat of global terrorism while politically targeting individual Israelis. It is an unacceptable moral equivalence that blurs the line between a sovereign democracy defending its people and the savage terror apparatus trying to destroy it.”

News Agency repeatedly sought comment from the European External Action Service, which referred us to its original sanctions statement.

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