European Jewish leaders warn Knesset election could trigger new EU sanctions, surge in antisemitism

European Jewish leaders have been working with friendly foreign ministers to block plans by European countries to impose severe sanctions against Israel ahead of the upcoming Israeli elections, European Jewish Congress President and World Jewish Congress Vice-President Ariel Muzicant told The Jerusalem Post. 

Muzicant informed the Post that Jewish leaders have been working quietly to stave off planned sanctions against Israel driven by EU member states such as Spain and Ireland. 

"We have been working under the radar with many friendly foreign ministers in Europe to persuade them to block the sanctions until we know what the elections will bring," Muzicant said.

Muzicant said that several European countries want to strip Israel of its preferred trade status with the European Community and cut off participation in major academic research funding programs like Horizon 2020.

Horizon 2020 and its successor programs represent the EU's flagship multi-billion-euro framework for funding research, development, and innovation, connecting universities and scientists across member states and associated nations.

For Israel, participation in these initiatives has historically served as a critical economic and academic lifeline, injecting hundreds of millions of euros into Israeli research institutions, facilitating student and faculty exchanges, and driving high-tech advancement.

Muzicant warned that losing access to these collaborative research networks would deliver a devastating blow to Israeli academia and research-and-development sectors.

Muzicant stated that the Austrian foreign minister spoke with European colleagues and "tried to push them to keep quiet for a few weeks until October 27."

Muzicant cautioned that this diplomatic reprieve is fragile and comes with strict caveats regarding the composition of the next Israeli government. He told the Post that European officials have signaled that "if Ben-Gvir, Smotrich, and company are in the next government, and if the terrible activities by some extreme settlers continue, there will be dramatic sanctions."

Muzicant noted that ongoing violence, such as recent attacks on Palestinians and international observers during the olive harvest in the West Bank, along with a lack of decisive government response, makes it extremely difficult for Israel's defenders in Europe to defend the country.

Muzicant pointed to recent incidents, such as the violent assault on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was beaten by masked settlers with clubs and iron bars, and a separate attack where Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, a town in northern France, was kicked and mobbed in the West Bank town of Taybeh. 

Noting that official Israeli responses initially expressed doubt or claimed a lack of proof despite widespread video evidence, Muzicant stated, "and then you see the film how she's beaten up with ice and with iron bars, I mean this this is not really gonna help anybody, and you see a French mayor who is beaten up, and you see all these pictures, and it's very, very difficult for the friends of Israel in Europe to counter these pictures."

Muzicant warned that the political pressure and economic threats facing Israel immediately will spill over onto Jewish communities across Europe.

Anti-Israel rallies and street protests in major urban hubs quickly turn into direct hostility against Jewish targets, with Muzicant pointing out that demonstrations featuring Palestinian flags in cities across France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium have frequently devolved into physical attacks on Jewish-owned businesses, stores, and synagogues, such as incidents in Marseille and Paris.

Warning that boycotts targeting Israeli products are expanding across countries like Spain and Belgium, Muzicant said, "For us, it means don't buy from the Jews. Kauf nicht bei Juden in German. And we are not so far away from it."

Muzicant added that broader social unrest sweeping through European cities is quickly co-opted by radical and far-left actors, noting that protests can rapidly turn to violence, stating that “the move from regular protests to violence is very fast, and the violence against individuals, but also businesses and others and synagogues is dramatic."

Addressing the Israeli public directly, Muzicant emphasized what is at stake in the upcoming vote, stating that Israeli citizens "should be aware that the general mood in Europe today is extremely anti-Israeli, especially because of what is going on in Judea and Samaria, and the daily pictures of attacks against Palestinians who are harvesting olives” and “that this may lead to a massive sanction plan from Europe against Israel."

Muzicant stressed that "the key element is again the provocations which you constantly get from Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and similar" and warned that "this should be also clear to the Israeli individual voters that their decision also influences the life of many Jews, especially in Europe."