Western governments that are trying to block Israel’s path to victory are abandoning a fellow democracy that is fighting a common enemy according to international law. Thankfully, many are still on the right side of history.

A young and beautiful couple, Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim, were murdered last week by a far-left activist who shot them in the back to supposedly free Palestine. This horrendous murder has been praised online and offline by people who essentially say that Yaron and Sara deserved being murdered because of what Israel is doing in Gaza.

Such is the circular logic of antisemites: They defame the Jews, and then kill them to stop the horrors they falsely attribute to them. This is how antisemites have always justified murdering Jews: in the name of justice. If Jews kill Chirstian children to use their blood for baking matza, if they secretly run a global cabal to instigate revolutions and wars, or if they commit a genocide and starve children for no other reason than sadistic cruelty, then you’re actually making the world a better place by getting rid of those people.

The latest defamation of Israel is that it is pursuing the war in Gaza for no reason, that this war can’t be won anyway, and that in the process Israel is starving the population.

Actually, Israel is pursuing the war for a very good reason: to win it. And winning the war means bringing back our hostages, disarming Hamas, and exiling its leaders. We’re almost there. The London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat has just revealed that Hamas is on the brink of collapse thanks to Israel’s offensive. After a year-and-a-half of war, Israel has mostly defeated Hamas. The IDF is now completing its mission. Those who say it’s taking too long should remember that it took four years for NATO forces to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

To those who say that you can’t defeat an ideology with weapons, the answer is that this was never the purpose. The purpose is to deny lethal ideologies the power they need to carry out their crimes. The allies defeated Nazi Germany, Soviet communism, and the Islamic state. It doesn’t mean there are no more Nazis, Communists, and Islamists. But they have been denied the military power and the territorial control which they once used to kill innocents in the name of their demented ideology.

So Israel is entirely justified to continue the war which can and will be won. And it is doing so by respecting humanitarian law. Last week, UN Under Secretary for Humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, claimed that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours. The UN eventually retracted this unfounded claim. But the damage in terms of defaming Israel had been done. Since October 7, Israel has sent 92,000 aid trucks into Gaza. That includes 1,8 million tons of aid. Aid is still being distributed but no longer in a way that enables Hamas to loot it.

Western governments that are trying to block Israel’s path to victory are making a moral and a tactical mistake. A moral mistake because they are abandoning a fellow democracy that is fighting a common enemy according to international law. A tactical mistake, because Israel will fight and win no matter what, and countries that stood in the way will not participate in the normalization process that will eventually take place after the defeat of Iran and of its proxies.

The French, British, and Canadian governments made that mistake by “threatening” Israel if it doesn’t end the war now. So did the Dutch government, which submitted to an EU vote a review the EU-Israel association agreement. The nine European governments who voted against the Dutch proposal (Germany, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania) chose to be on the right side of history.

When victory comes, Israel shall remember who stood by its side.

 

 

 

 

Team of ELNET-Israel           Board of Trustees of ELNET-Israel

 

Message from Emmanuel Navon:

(For ELNET-Israel’s Statement, Click here)

I am stepping down from my position as CEO of ELNET-Israel to establish a new institute with ELNET-France. This Institute will bring together the best minds to build a post-October 7 foreign policy strategy for Israel, to defend the values of Western civilization, and to produce top-quality research for ELNET and for decision-makers in Israel and in Europe.

October 7 has changed Israel and the Jewish people forever. ELNET rose to the challenge by bringing solidarity missions to Israel as early as October 9, 2023. At ELNET-Israel we geared up public diplomacy efforts by organizing solidarity missions to the South, by producing impactful videos, by conveying documented information on social media, and by briefing European ambassadors on a regular basis.

Running ELNET’s Israel office for two years has been a privilege, but my added value lies elsewhere. The time-consuming tasks of daily management impede my academic output. I was approached by ELNET for my scholarship, and it is clear after two years in a management position that this scholarship would be of better use in a research institute that will support ELNET’s work.

I am thankful to ELNET for entrusting me with the undertaking of this ambitious project, and for giving me the opportunity to lead the Israel office for the past two years. The entire team of ELNET-Israel can take pride in our office’s achievements. Allow me to list some.

Among our assignments was to fundraise $300,000 a year for ELNET-Israel. We surpassed this target both in 2023 and in 2024. Interpersonal relations in the office improved and our budget became more transparent. I took part, with my team, in the organization of dozens of delegations and strategic dialogues and addressed them all (except for two delegations this month).

We initiated a quarterly briefing with European ambassadors; we started this monthly newsletter; we improved the structure and the design of ELNET’s website; we increased our social media visibility and influence; we started viral videos to defend Israel in Europe following October 7; We published op-eds and policy papers to defend Israel and to underline Israel’s strategic value for Europe; We built a Board of Trustees composed of large donors, and a Board of Advisors made up of respected academics and public figures; We re-organized ELNET’s “Dropbox” (online shared documents) and made it more user-friendly; and we have transferred ELNET-Israel’s official address from Ramat-Gan to Jerusalem.

None of the above achievements would have been possible without the professionalism and dedication of ELNET-Israel’s exceptional team.

Yossi Abarbanel and Jill Willer do an outstanding job putting together high-quality programs for ELNET’s delegations. Benjamin Touati has skillfully and successfully taken over the daily management of the office as COO. Pascaline Wagemans masterfully organizes top-level strategic dialogues together with Dalmione Shkodra, who has been a wonderful addition to our team. Yasmin Burk manages our finances in the most rigorous and professional manner. Ben Rosemblaum has improved our communication thanks to his creativity and hard work. The office would not function without Anna Kaufman, whose good nature and dedication are essential to our daily operations. Our intern Yaniv Cohen is always there to give a hand when the team is overwhelmed. I thank each and every one of them. Working with this exceptional team has been a privilege.

I also wish to thank our Chairman, Sam Pinto, for improving the work of our office and for bringing needed governance changes to the global organization. I am deeply grateful to Arie Bensemhoun for his commitment to the truth, to justice, to decency, and to the good of the organization; and I thank him for agreeing to establish the new institute within ELNET-France. My heartfelt thanks also go to ELNET-Israel’s Board of Trustees, whose members have brought to the organization not only financial support but also guidance. Thank you as well to the other donors of ELNET-Israel and to FELNET, whose generosity and commitment make ELNET’s work possible.

Conveying the right message to the right people is important, but it is not enough. In the post-October 7 world, we need the best minds to provide decision makers with top-quality research and proposals. This is what the new institute intends to do.

This is a new beginning for me personally and for ELNET, which I undertake with confidence and determination, inspired more than ever by Isaiah’s pledge: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch” (Isaiah 62:1).

Message from ELNET-Israel’s Board of Trustees:

We, the members of ELNET-Israel’s Board of Trustees, wish to express our deep appreciation to Dr. Emmanuel Navon as he leaves his position as our CEO to pursue new initiatives in public diplomacy. Under his direction, ELNET-Israel expanded its various programs significantly, raising its profile and prestige as a major voice in European-Israeli affairs and facilitator of improved diplomatic relations. Dr. Navon’s tenure is marked by academic excellence and exceptional diplomatic engagement.

Together with the rest of the ELNET professional staff, in particular COO Benjamin Touati, Deputy Executive Director Yossi Abravanel, Director of the Forum of Strategic Dialogue Pascaline Wagemans, Delegations Program Manager Jill Wyler, and others (too many to mention all here), he and the team have hosted hundreds of European parliamentarians, dozens of foreign government ministers and military representatives, ambassadors, policymakers, dignitaries and media representatives, engaging in dialogue and on-site fact-finding, thereby strengthening Israel’s relations with the respective countries in a particularly difficult time.

ELNET-Israel’s successes in public diplomacy and partnership-building (strategic, economic and other), in co-ordination with ELNET’s international network of offices, have been acknowledged by both senior Israeli and European government representatives. Thank you, Dr. Navon and team, for your high caliber professionalism and tireless dedication. May you go from strength to strength.