The EU vs Israel: The Fix Is In

We've been watching the story of the U.S. vs Israel recently, but the EU doesn't want to be left out of the anti-Israeli picture. The article below underscores that fact. Additionally (see bolded statements), this article reveals the twisted and distorted views which exist towards Israel. 

EU Envoy: Naturally, Israel Will Be Blamed If Settlements Wreck The Peace Process

The European Union’s ambassador to Israel said Wednesday that the EU does not understand what exactly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu means when he demands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Seriously? The EU "does not understand" Israel as a Jewish State? Unbelievable. It gets worse:

Ambassador Lars Faaborg-Andersen also said that if Israel’s settlement policies wrecked the current US-led peace efforts, then Israel would be held responsible for the failure of the negotiations, and rightly so. “Naturally” and “logically,” he said, “the blame will be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep.”

Briefing reporters in Jerusalem, Faaborg-Andersen said of the “Jewish Israel” issue: “I don’t think we have any clear position on that because we’re not 100% sure what is meant by this concept of a Jewish state.”

After the briefing, Faaborg-Andersen’s spokesperson clarified in a statement that, “The EU has not pronounced a position on the question of recognition of Israel as a Jewish state among other reasons because we’re not sure about the implications of this on other final status issues. Therefore, we think that this is an issue to be discussed between the parties.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly declared that he considers the Palestinians’ unwillingness to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, or as the nation-state of the Jewish people, as the core root of the conflict. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have said they will never agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, with some officials saying this would disenfranchise Arab citizens of Israel and require the Palestinians to give up their national narrative and the demand for a “right of return” to Israel for millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Earlier on Wednesday, Faaborg-Andersen met with Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin in Jerusalem. During the meeting, Elkin complained about the EU’s “unfair and one-sided policy” vis-à-vis Israel, according to his spokesperson. “We’re condemned for every announcement of [settlement] building, but there are no condemnations issued over the rocket fire from Gaza and the escalation in the region,” Elkin told Faaborg-Andersen.

Last week, after Israeli ambassadors in several European capitals, including London, Rome and Paris, were called in by their host countries to hear complaints over Israel’s settlement plans, Netanyahu launched an even more bitter attack against the EU.

Netanyahu said the move was hypocritical. “The European Union called in our ambassadors in the EU because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors to complain about the incitement that calls for Israel’s destruction? When do the Palestinian ambassadors get called in to hear complaints about the fact that security officers in the Palestinian security forces are participating in terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis?”

It is time to “stop this hypocrisy,” Netanyahu said. “I think it’s time to inject some balance and fairness into this discussion. I think this imbalance and this bias against Israel doesn’t advance peace. I think it pushes peace further away because it tells the Palestinians you can basically do anything you want, say anything you want, incite any way you want, and you won’t be held accountable.”

As they say, "the fix is in". This entire situation now appears to be pre-planned - as the inevitable failure will be placed squarely upon Israel's shoulders. The immediate question becomes, "What will happen next?"

On Wednesday, Faaborg-Andersen also reiterated his assessment that Israel would be blamed for the failure of the current US-brokered peace effort if the talks collapsed because of Israeli plans to build additional housing units beyond the 1967 lines.

“If the talks are wrecked as a result of an Israeli settlement announcement, then the blame will be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep,” the EU envoy said. Settlements undermine trust in a negotiated settlement, as Israel is eating the cake while discussing how it should be divided, he said. If Israel’s actions result in the talks’ breakdown, “naturally and logically [Israel] will be to blame,” he said.

If Israel continues to expand its presence beyond the Green Line, without a peace agreement being signed, it “will find itself increasingly isolated,” he predicted. “Not necessarily because of any decisions taken at a government level but because of decisions taken by a myriad of private economic actors, be it companies, be it pension funds, be it consumers who will be choosing other product on the supermarket shelves.”

For now, the EU opposes a boycott of products from Jewish settlements, but several member states are already attaching special labels to such goods, and this policy might be adapted EU-wide in the future, Faaborg-Andersen said.

The tendency to want to label West Bank products is “gaining momentum every time there’s a settlement announcement here,” he added. “And that’s one of the reasons why we think these [additional building plans and their execution] are counterproductive, both for the negotiations but also because they don’t play in in a good way with the public and also the political class in Europe. I’m afraid that this is something that further fuels that debate.”

Is this actually serious? 

We need to remember - that even though it may not be a "popular" concept, Israel is indeed a sovereign nation. The idea that they should stop building living space for their citizens on their land because such a concept "doesn't play in a good way with the (EU) public and the 'political class' in Europe" is beyond ridiculous. Beyond surreal. Beyond believable. But there it is, in black and white. 

Is it really a stretch to envision the intense persecution of the Jewish people that will take place during the Tribulation?