The rate of negative official statements regarding Israel by European Union institutions has risen by nearly 60% since the October 7 Hamas attacks, according to a study published on Sunday by The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).
The study, led by Professor Sharon Pardo, Shlomi Bareznik, Eli Kanai, and Dr. Hila Zehavi, analyzed over 24,000 European External Action Service statements between 2017 and 2026, comparing those involving Israel to those involving several other countries.
A relevance analysis filtered the statements down to a total of 3,584, nearly 25% of which involved Israel.
Overall, 38% of the Israel-related statements were negative toward the country, 49% were neutral, and 13% were positive.
Once trends were taken into account, the rate of negative statements increased from 29% pre-Oct. 7 to nearly 46% post-Oct. 7, a nearly 60% increase. During the same period, the rate of neutral statements fell from 51% to 46%, and the rate of positive statements fell from 20% to 8%.
Of all the countries evaluated, only Iran was found to have received more negative statements than Israel, though these were attributed to security-related issues and not humanitarian or legal issues like those involving Israel. Turkey was found to receive largely neutral treatment, while over two-thirds of statements involving Qatar were positive.
The findings also show that just over half of the Israel-related statements involve keywords related to the two-state solution, despite the terms largely being abandoned in Israeli politics.
JPPI President: Europe ‘turning its back on Jews’
JPPI President Professor Yedidiya Stern described the findings as evidence that Europe is “turning its back on Jews,” despite it once being “home to the majority of the Jewish people.”
“On the streets, the frequency and intensity of spontaneous manifestations of anti-Semitism are increasing,” said Stern. “In some state parliaments, laws are being enacted that push Jews out due to the prohibition of circumcision and kosher slaughter.
“The current study shows that not only the street and specific countries, but also the European Union itself operates a negative double standard in its relationship to the State of Israel,” he continued. “Israel must concentrate its efforts on changing the trend through diverse means.
It is not enough to just provide information, but to address the threat at its true value: a threat to the national security of the State of Israel,” concluded Stern.
