Israel Must Shift Its Strategy

For decades, Israel has lived with a strange contradiction. It is located in the Middle East while trying, in many ways, to be accepted as part of Europe. It played in European sports competitions, sang at the Eurovision, traded with European markets, often measured its legitimacy through European eyes, and sought its approval. But the war has exposed the limits of that strategy. Israel should not abandon Europe, but it must stop chasing it. Its future lies in becoming a stronger, more useful, and more deeply rooted Middle Eastern power.

This does not mean Europe is irrelevant. Europe remains one of Israel’s most important economic partners. Israel should continue to trade, cooperate, and innovate with European countries. But there is a huge difference between partnership and dependence. Europe does not share Israel’s geography, its borders, or its immediate security threats. Many European governments can afford to view the Middle East as a moral debate from a distance. Israel cannot. For Israel, the Middle East is not an abstract foreign policy issue. It is home.

For most of Israel’s history, looking away from the region made sense. The Middle East was not a space of opportunity, but........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)