Al-Jazeera / May 8, 2023
Delegation calls off Europe Day reception, saying it did not want to offer a platform to far-right Israeli minister.
The European Union delegation in Israel has cancelled its Europe Day diplomatic reception over the planned participation of far-right Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“Regrettably, this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the EU stands for,” the delegation said in a Twitter post on Monday.
Brussels marks May 9 as Europe Day, honoring a 1950 French declaration that led to the founding of the body that became the EU. The remainder of the public event is to take place as scheduled.
The act of protest by the EU’s delegation in Israel against Ben-Gvir – a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most religious and ultranationalist in the country’s history – could cause a diplomatic dispute between Israel and the EU.
Relations already have been strained over Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank.
Ben-Gvir, the leader of the far-right Jewish Power faction, was assigned to represent the Israeli government at the Europe Day event on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday in a Kan radio interview that Ben-Gvir had been assigned by the government secretary to attend “not as a representative of the Jewish Power party … but to represent the government of Israel”.
Ben-Gvir is a hardline Jewish settler in the West Bank with past convictions for support for “terrorism” and incitement against Palestinians. He is widely regarded as a provocateur and has called for the displacement of Palestinians.
The Israeli cabinet last month approved a plan by Ben-Gvir to form a “national guard”, whose units would to work alongside the police and military and deal with “civil unrest”, such as “disturbances” or pro-Palestinian protests.
As the government’s representative at the Europe Day event, Ben-Gvir would have addressed attendees.
“It’s a shame that the EU, which pretends to represent democratic values and multiculturalism, behaves with undiplomatic gagging,” Ben-Gvir said.
The EU made its decision just weeks after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was slammed for comments saying Israel makes “the desert bloom” when marking its 75th “independence” day.
The Palestinian Authority said her comment is an “anti-Palestinian racist trope” and the day instead marks 75 years of Israel’s “colonial project”.
Israel has long denied the forced expulsions of Palestinians during that time, in which the newly formed Israeli army and Zionist militias expelled at least 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land and captured 78 percent of historic Palestine.
Netanyahu returned to office in December at the head of a coalition that includes ultra-Orthodox parties and religious ultranationalists, including Ben-Gvir’s small Jewish Power faction.
The government has made expansion of West Bank settlements a top priority. The EU, along with most of the international community, considers Jewish settlements in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem illegal under international law and obstacles to peace with the Palestinians.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinian leaders seek all three areas for a future independent state.
SOURCE: AL-AZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
_____
European Union delegation cancels event in Israel over Ben-Gvir’s participation
Middle East Eye / May 8, 2023
Delegation says it doesn’t want to platform someone whose views ‘contradict the values the EU stands for’.
The European Union’s delegation to Israel has cancelled a diplomatic event over the planned participation of far-right minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The EU delegation in Tel Aviv had been scheduled to host a reception marking Europe Day on Tuesday. However, following a meeting of EU ambassadors, it decided to cancel the event.
“Regrettably, this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the EU stands for,” the delegation said in a Twitter post on Monday.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Kan radio on Sunday that Ben-Gvir had been assigned to attend the event “not as a representative of the Jewish Power party … but to represent the government of Israel”.
Ben-Gvir, who currently serves as Israel’s minister of national security and also heads the far-right Jewish Power party, is a hardline Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank with past convictions for support for “terrorism” and incitement against Palestinians.
He was recently given the approval to form a “national guard” whose units would work alongside Israeli police and military and deal with “civil unrest” such as “disturbances” or pro-Palestinian protests.
Since last year, Ben-Gvir has provoked controversy both in Israel and internationally for pushing for hardline reforms to the judiciary and security.
“It’s a shame that the EU, which pretends to represent democratic values and multiculturalism, behaves with undiplomatic gagging,” Ben-Gvir said, as quoted by the Associated Press.
Strained EU-Israel ties
The act of protest by the EU’s delegation in Israel against Ben-Gvir, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, comes just days before the 75th anniversary of the Nakba – a term used to describe the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the lead-up to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
The EU also made its decision just weeks after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was slammed for comments saying Israel makes “the desert bloom” when marking its 75th “independence” day.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said the comment is an “anti-Palestinian racist trope” that amounts to the erasure of the Palestinian people.
The cancellation of Tuesday’s celebration could cause a diplomatic dispute between Israel and the EU, which have already had strained relations due to Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank.
In December, the EU abandoned an intelligence cooperation agreement between the Israeli police and Europol. The agreement aimed to facilitate the transfer of information between Israeli and EU police in the fight against crime and terrorism.
On Sunday, the EU issued a sharp rebuke after Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian primary school in the occupied West Bank. The European body, which had funded the school, said it was “appalled” at the demolition.
_____
EU in Israel cancels Europe Day event over far-right minister’s participation
Henriette Chacar
Reuters / May 8, 2023
‘We do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the EU stands for’.
Onderkant formulier
The European Union delegation in Israel has cancelled its Europe Day diplomatic reception over the planned participation of far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
“Regrettably, this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception, as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the EU stands for,” the delegation said in a statement.
Brussels marks 9 May as Europe Day, honoring a 1950 French declaration that led to the founding of the body that became the EU. National security minister Mr Ben-Gvir was set to represent the Israeli government at this year’s event.
The EU reaction, however, underlines the diplomatic upsets facing the religious-nationalist coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose alliance with Mr Ben-Gvir and fellow pro-settler leader Bezalel Smotrich has caused unease even among Israel’s international allies.
Mr Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Jewish Power party, was convicted in 2007 of racist incitement against Arabs and backing a group considered by Israel and the United States to be a terrorist organization.
“It is a shame that the European Union, which claims to represent the values of democracy and multiculturalism, is engaging in undiplomatic silencing,” Mr Ben-Gvir said in a statement. “Friends know how to express criticism and true friends also know how to hear it,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu is himself still waiting for an invitation to visit Washington, and opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government of “picking unnecessary fights”.
“Managing Israel’s foreign relations is a complex matter that requires expertise and a smart approach,” he said in a tweet.
