Europe’s obsession with labeling Israel a perpetrator of “genocide” and “apartheid” is untrue and unfair. More significantly, it is strategically reckless for Europe.
The greatest damage of this narrative is not done to Israel — which has learned, over decades, to survive without European moral approval. The real damage is done to Europe itself, which is actively undermining its own security by morally disqualifying the very partner it most needs in an era of missile warfare, asymmetric threats, and terror-driven geopolitics.
This is not moral clarity. It is moral foolishness built on a massive lie; and the bill is coming due.
A Narrative That Collapses Under Facts
Let’s begin with the basics.
The claim of genocide collapses under demographic reality. Since 1948, the Palestinian population has grown dramatically, from roughly 700,000 Arabs in Mandatory Palestine to approximately 7 million Palestinians and Israeli Arabs today. Genocide does not produce exponential population growth. Words matter, and when they are emptied of meaning, they become weapons of deception.
The apartheid accusation fares no better. Nearly two million Arab citizens of Israel vote, sit in parliament, serve as judges, doctors, professors, and diplomats, and participate fully in civil society. Israeli Arab women enjoy educational and legal rights comparable to Western democracies and far exceeding those in much of the Middle East.
None of this describes apartheid.
But the deeper problem is not that these accusations are false. It is that Europe increasingly behaves as if they are true. It structures its politics, alliances, and moral self-image around them.
Strategic Reality Doesn’t Care About Moral Posturing
Europe is entering a new era of vulnerability.
The war in Ukraine shattered the illusion that Europe lives in a post-war, post-missile world. Long-range ballistic missiles, drones, saturation attacks, and terror-driven warfare are not theoretical threats. They are present realities.
And Europe is not prepared.
Most European states lack:
A credible missile defense doctrine
Integrated early-warning systems
Experience defending civilian populations from mass rocket fire
Israel, by contrast, has lived in this reality for decades.
It has built layered missile defense systems not out of ambition, but necessity. Not to project power, but to prevent annihilation. Israel understands what Europe is only now beginning to relearn: even a 90% interception rate is failure when the weapon is nuclear or mass-casualty in nature.
This is why Germany — to its credit — has moved decisively to partner with Israel on missile defense, including the Arrow system. Germany understands something others refuse to admit – moral clarity does not protect civilians. Capabilities do.
Europe’s Dangerous Moral Split
And here lies the contradiction.
While Germany aligns itself strategically with Israel, other European states — notably Spain and several others — retreat behind moralistic rhetoric, distancing themselves from Israeli defense cooperation under the banner of “human rights.”
This is not morality. It is strategic malpractice.
These governments are not taking a higher moral stand. They are accepting a lower strategic ground, based on a narrative that delegitimizes Israel’s very existence and treats its defensive actions as criminal.
The result?
Reduced defense cooperation
Slower adoption of proven missile interception technologies
Increased vulnerability to the very threats Israel has been confronting for decades
In an age where terror organizations and hostile states openly coordinate across borders, strategic alignment matters more than moral theater.
The Real Beneficiaries of the Lie
Who benefits when Europe morally distances itself from Israel?
Not the Palestinians.
Not peace.
Not European civilians.
The beneficiaries are:
Islamist terror networks
States that weaponize chaos and disinformation
Actors who thrive when democracies fracture their alliances
By repeating the language of “genocide” and “apartheid,” Europe does the work of those who seek to weaken it from within — cloaked in the language of virtue.
This is not accidental. The information ecosystem driving these narratives is saturated with coordinated disinformation, much of it originating from regimes and movements hostile to both Israel and Europe.
Moral confusion is not a side effect. It is the objective.
Israel as Europe’s Early Warning System
Israel is not just a state. It is a laboratory of modern defense under pressure.
Israel has already confronted:
Rocket saturation attacks on civilian centers
Terror organizations embedded within civilian populations
Missile threats designed to overwhelm defenses
Information warfare that mirrors physical warfare
Europe is beginning to face the same challenges — just later, and with less experience.
To delegitimize Israel morally is to discard decades of hard-earned strategic knowledge at the exact moment Europe needs it most.
Moral Seriousness Requires Strategic Honesty
True morality begins with truth.
Truth requires acknowledging that:
Israel is not committing genocide
Israel is not an apartheid state
Israel’s security doctrine is defensive, not imperial
Europe’s security interests increasingly align with Israel’s experience
The refusal to acknowledge this is not compassion. It is cowardice disguised as conscience.
And cowardice in matters of security has consequences.
The Cost of Self-Deception
Europe’s greatest danger is not Israel’s actions. It is Europe’s unwillingness to see the world as it is.
By clinging to false narratives, Europe weakens its alliances, delays its defenses, and exposes its civilians to threats it claims to oppose.
The lie hurts Israel rhetorically.
But it may hurt Europe catastrophically.
That is the real tragedy — and the real warning.
Arnie is a member of AJC’s Board of Governors and is the immediate past President of AJC Long Island. Arnie travels widely with AJC advancing the interests of the Jewish people and for Israel’s place in the world. This blog, along with his award-winning podcast, Habits of a Whole Heart, bring forth his passion for advocacy and helping others live deep meaningful lives. He is also a lawyer in his 35th year of private practice. The views and opinions expressed in these pages are those of the author only.