Europe’s anti-Israel stance is more than antisemitisn

The argument that antisemitism is behind the rise of anti-Israel sentiments seen since the start of the war against Hamas is “weak,” according to a study published by the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, which instead saw history, diplomacy, and impact as the dominating factors.

Published in the annual ‘For a Righteous Cause report,’ ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the study sought to understand why the Israel-skeptic bloc of Europe had not backed the Jewish state, abandoning the popular reasons of Muslim migration and anti-Jewish sentiment.

Naming Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, and Belgium as the P-8, researchers based their understanding of the countries’ attitudes toward Israel on an analysis of dozens of opinion polls and hundreds of speeches, statements, social media posts, and opinion columns, as well as interviews with over 30 European politicians, diplomats, journalists, and scholars.

While the study’s authors acknowledge the linkage between antisemitism and a political climate, they argue that it is difficult to determine when criticism of Israel is an antisemitic double standard or a legitimate stance.

Additionally, countries in the P-8 bloc enjoy relatively low rates of antisemitic attacks, in correlation with their relatively small Jewish populations.

A comparative survey by the Pew Research Center from 2018 of 15 European countries showed publics in Norway (95%), Belgium (89%), Spain (79%) and Ireland (70%) have higher contention rates with the prospect of having Jews as family members than in Germany and Austria, countries considered to have a more favorable stance to Israel.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a banner during a protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship in the port of Piraeus near Athens, Greece, June 12, 2025.