Amsterdam violence points to Israel's eroding reputation in Europe

When suspicions swirled around Hungary as the hub for a secret Israeli operation to sabotage pager devices bought by Hezbollah earlier this year, the curtain was parted on a rare relationship of solace that the country had established with a European counterpart.

Hungary has also been hosting the Israeli national football team’s home games at European tournaments since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Other games have been played in Serbia and Cyprus, but for the most part Hungary has played host.

However, if we were to scan elsewhere across Europe, it becomes clear that far more uncomfortable realities for Israel have emerged over the past year.

The Israeli national team is scheduled to play an away game against France in the Uefa Nations League this week. After the flashpoint in Amsterdam last week, when Ajax hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv, a huge security operation will be put in place in Paris on Thursday with more than 4,000 additional police.

As Europeans scarred by the experiences of the 1970s and 1980s know well, no nation should be judged based on the behaviour of a few hooligans following their clubs. However, it feels now that in country after country a new normal is coming to fruition for Israel.

It is one that cannot be detached from European views of how Israel has conducted its war in the Levant. And it is one that centres on the increased hostility towards Israel around Europe.

Football is one object lesson on this changed atmosphere. For decades, Israel has had a social and cultural home in European football, playing in Uefa competitions, for example. Yet on Monday, its government was compelled to issue a travel advisory to its national team fans against travelling to Paris.

The situation brings to mind an incident in the Swedish city of Malmo in May, when calls for a boycott erupted over the Israeli contestant in Eurovision finals. In addition to its high-profile Uefa membership, Israel is also a member of the European Broadcasting Union and has participated in the Eurovision.

These developments may belong to the realm of sport and entertainment, but they say something about the state of the relationships overall.

The divisions across Europe over the war in Gaza are magnified by protests, boycotts and street clashes that come complete with images of Israeli and Palestinian flags. This imagery will stick in the public imagination and so, too, will the resentments that lie behind it for the Israelis.

At the higher level of national politics in various countries, there is a more subtle but no less fundamental battle being waged. The bedrock of sentiment for engaging in a business-as-usual way with Israel has been eroded. In some countries, the alienation of the relationship is total.

As Ireland prepares for a general election before the end of this month, you would be hard-pressed to find any but hostile words about Israel in the campaign. From the governing parties on the centre-right to the radical leftists, including the main opposition Sinn Fein, the manifestos of the parties seek to signal a tough line on Israel.

Ireland is one of a group of countries that wants to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which regulates trading ties, by tying the abusive settlement activity in the West Bank to the privileges that the pact offers. The Irish parliament will return in the new year to the issue. It is guaranteed that whatever the make-up of the new chamber, a bill unilaterally suspending the trade relationship over the settlements for Ireland will pass.

Even in states that have been keen to signal support for Israel’s defence, there has been an unprecedented move to place financial sanctions on leaders of the settlement movement. This makes a category of Israeli citizens persona non grata. Even though this is a step directed at a few individuals, in legal terms this is a momentous step.

The erosion of Israeli standing has been dramatic and progressively more pervasive across the European sphere. Even if some countries have been bolder than others, the popular support for taking a stand on Israel is high and solid. Even in Germany, there is a backlash over a parliamentary resolution passed last week that seeks to provide anti-Semitism protections against campaigners for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

A poll released last week that was covered by The National showed where the weaknesses lie. The YouGov poll of seven European countries found that while Israel had initial sympathy in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, this decisively was reversed as a result of its conduct over the 12 months since.

The news from Gaza has taken a toll on Israel’s standing, with, for example, only 15 per cent of respondents in the UK able to agree with the claim that Israel has acted in a proportionate way since launching its assault. This in a country where the poll showed 52 per cent were initially behind military action.

Figures such as these give us a snapshot of how the public mood has shifted. The consequence of that shift is the spread of a largely hostile environment for Israel’s interactions with its European partners.

In some countries, this is apparent at the political level and among business and cultural leaders. In more and more places, it is manifest among the population. It is getting hard to see how that new reality can be reversed for Israel over time.