A recent report published by Euractiv has raised troubling questions not only about European Union (EU) foreign policy but also about the future of Jewish life in Europe.

According to the report, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to apartheid era South Africa during confidential meetings with Mexican officials in May. Diplomats cited by Euractiv reportedly expressed concern that the remarks departed from established EU policy, with one official describing it as a serious problem if such statements were being made by the person tasked with representing all 27 member states on the world stage.

Predictably, the debate that followed has focused on the Middle East. Was the comparison justified? Did Kallas overstep her mandate? Does her position reflect a broader shift within EU institutions?

These questions matter. Yet they risk obscuring another issue that may ultimately prove more consequential: what happens when the language used to judge the Jewish state begins to shape the way Jewish communities themselves are perceived?

That question should concern anyone who cares about the future of democratic pluralism in Europe.

For decades, European leaders have insisted on an important distinction. Criticism of Israeli government policy is not the same as hostility toward Jews. In principle, that distinction is both correct and essential. Democracies require open debate, and Israel should be subject to scrutiny like any other democratic state.

The problem begins when criticism shifts from specific policies to sweeping judgments about the nature of the state itself.

The term apartheid is not simply another political accusation. It carries immense historical and emotional weight. It refers to one of the most notorious systems of racial oppression in modern history. It evokes a regime that became a global symbol of institutional injustice and moral illegitimacy.

When such language is used by the EU’s........

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