Shoshana Bryen
The timing was extraordinary. As I was moderating a conference entitled “U.S.-Central Asian Relations in the Era of the Abraham Accords,” Kazakhstan announced that it was, in fact, joining the pact. The reasons are many, and more Central Asian countries are likely to join, but it is the timing that leads to a larger understanding of Israel and the often hypocritical world. To be clear, it is neither the Abraham Accords countries nor those of Central Asia that are hypocritical.
Before the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of Israel and the gruesome massacre of more than 1,200 people, Israel and the countries of Europe had deep and long relations: political, economic, defense, cultural and sporting. But, in the eyes of many European governments, it was Israel that had to be penalized in all of those areas.
In 2023, the pan-European UniCredit put Israel on a “forbidden list.” Norway’s Storebrand group and French insurer sold shares of some Israeli firms, including banks. In 2024, several of Europe’s biggest financial firms cut back their links to Israeli companies or those with ties to the country.
Spain maintained what it called a “total embargo” on Israeli weapons. Madrid canceled a $207 million deal to buy targeting systems, following Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s description of Israel’s operations as “the genocide in Gaza.”
The British government canceled partnerships between the United Kingdom and Israel worth 6 billion pounds and supporting 38,000 jobs, as well as the provision of “significant information” to U.K. intelligence by Israel, including information that thwarted an Iranian-linked terrorist plot.
Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia and others announced varying degrees of suspension of military and economic cooperation with Israel. The United Kingdom banned Israeli soccer fans, and the Netherlands had an actual pogrom.
But it was always a convoluted set of decisions.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund had loudly announced its divestiture from Israel. Yet, at the end of 2024, the fund had more than $2 billion invested in 65 Israeli companies. The Norwegian Parliament rejected calls for a blanket ban, but the fund blacklisted 11 Israeli companies for assisting Israel’s “occupation,” primarily by providing gas and electricity to Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.
French and British pandering for a “Palestinian state” garnered headlines and victory cheers from Hamas, which credited Oct. 7.
Countries wanted to look strong, often in the face of violently anti-Israel and antisemitic mobs at home. But now, things are getting real and, as one analyst noted, “When things get real, countries put politics aside and go for Israel.”
The reality is that there was no famine in Gaza. There was no genocide. Hamas committed various heinous crimes against Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians. And there was a price to be paid for withdrawing from one of the most forward-thinking, productive and defense-oriented countries in the world.
According to World Israel News, Israel’s Ministry of Defense reported that Israeli arms exports hit a record $14.8 billion in 2024, with 54% of those exports going to European countries; a dramatic rise from just over 33% in 2023.
World Israel News also reported: “Despite public statements about severing ties with Israeli defense firms, Spain has authorized a €350 million ($420 million) deal with Elbit Systems for tactical radio communication systems.”
Norway declined to enforce its rules requiring divestiture from companies that have investments/facilities in Israel, including Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. Finance minister Jens Stoltenberg said withdrawing “would undermine the purpose of the fund to be a broad, diversified global investment fund.”
After a September announcement that German arms exports to Israel had fallen to zero, Haaretz reported in October that Germany had, in fact, approved arms exports worth at least $2.9 million.
The Israeli and Greek Air Forces held a joint aerial refueling drill, and Israel, Greece, Cyprus and the United States met to discuss restoration of the East Med Gas Pipeline, which had been nixed by the Biden administration.
The “State of Palestine” offered little in the way of progress to real Palestinians.
And, on the side, after months of nasty rhetoric emanating from Cairo, and weapons smuggling in Sinai near the Israeli border, Egypt acknowledged its dependence on Israel and signed a new natural gas deal. Israel still has to address the weapons in Sinai.
Even in Hollywood, reality may be intruding on fantasy. In October, as the cease-fire was drawing closer, a new boycott of the Israeli film industry and Israeli actors took shape. But Warner Bros. Discovery told Variety, “Our policies prohibit discrimination of any kind, including discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or ancestry. We believe a boycott of Israeli film institutions violates our policies.” After a boycott letter circulated at Paramount, the studio released a statement condemning it for “silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality.”
To close the loop, the countries of Central Asia were always smarter about their interests. They have longstanding ties with the State of Israel. They are increasingly interested in increased relations with the Gulf states and the United States, particularly in light of their concerns about China and Russia, the historic powers in the region. Neither they nor the Abraham Accords countries were taken in by the propaganda shared by Hamas, Russia, Iran and Qatar about Gaza (although Gulf state concerns were sincere and expected).
Central Asia and the Abraham Accord countries are moving ahead, and Europe and Hollywood are catching up.
Shoshana Bryen is senior director of the Jewish Policy Center and editor of inFOCUS Quarterly.
