New EU High Representative Kaja Kallas makes the same old mistakes ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

New EU High Representative Kaja Kallas makes the same old mistakes

Kaja Kallas, the recently appointed EU High Representative, has been in Israel and said some friendly things in her press conference with Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar:

Thank you. Foreign Minister Sa’ar, dear Gideon, it is important to be in Israel today – although I wish it would have been under different circumstances.

Let me start by condemning yesterday's attacks on a Rabbi in France. There is no place for anti-semitism in Europe.

We met exactly one month ago, after the EU-Israeli association Council in Brussels, and it is clear that we are very good partners. Israel is a very relevant trade and investment partner for the European Union, and also a major player in the growing tech sector.

I don't think her predecessor, Josep Borrell, would ever have uttered the words "dear Gideon." The tone may be better but the policy is the same.

Mr. Sa’ar, as I underlined when we met a month ago, the security of Israel is extremely important to the European Union. Israelis must be able to feel safe in their own homes. Israel has the right of self-defence against terror attacks, whether from Hamas, the Houthis or Hezbollah.

However, military actions must be proportionate. Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation. The fundamental steps here are restating the ceasefire; ensuring the release of all hostages and resume the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza – with the goal of a permanent ceasefire.

Her tone is better, but the content is the same as the EU position had been under Borrell.

Specifically, the "proportionate" line is virtually identical to what Borrell has said a number of times.

April 2023: "Israel has the right to defend itself. At the same time, any response must be proportionate."

May 2021: "We understand Israel’s right to protect its civilian population. Nevertheless, we expect its response to be proportionate."

The EU is not calling for Israel to follow the international law principle of proportionality. That principle says that any expected damage to civilians be proportional to the military advantage gained by an attack. Israel goes beyond the law in those cases no matter what the haters say.

The EU is demanding much more. It insists that Israel respond to terror attacks and military attacks in a tit for tat fashion, only using force that is similar in size and quality to what it suffered.

if Hezbollah fires rockets, Israel can fire a few missiles. If Hamas terrorists stab a few Israelis to death, Israel can destroy a weapons warehouse.

That is not how to win a war. It is how to prolong it.

Israel followed the EU playbook in Lebanon for over a year. Hezbollah would do something, Israel would respond back, Hezbollah would respond to the response, and so on, while tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel remained homeless.

If the EU had its way, this would still be the situation in Lebanon. Saying that responses must be proportionate is a recipe for further violence, not peace.

True to form, Josep Borrell criticized and condemned Israel's escalation in Lebanon in September and October, calling for a ceasefire and for diplomacy. He condemned Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.

Now we can see how wrong he was. For the first time in decades, Lebanon has a chance to make its own decisions without Iran calling the shots through its proxy. Even the Lebanese media now feels more free, featuring criticism of Hezbollah that was unthinkable six months ago.

"Proportionate responses" do not work. They make things worse.

There is no doubt that Kallas is more pro-Israel than Borrell. She strongly defended Israel as Prime Minister of Estonia. Her government cracked down on extremist rhetoric in anti-Israel rallies and on antisemitic incidents. Her friendly tone towards Israel is important. But the EU still maintains its ossified policy towards Israel, pretending that we are still in the 1990s and there is a chance for a two state solution.

Let's hope that Kallas' empathy with Israel translates into EU policy.