The European Coalition for Israel, a Christian advocacy group, welcomed the EU’s condemnation of the latest round of rocket attacks on Israeli civilians from Hamas in Gaza, a fortnight before Israel was to host the Eurovision Song Contest.
Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Security Policy and Foreign Affairs – effectively the EU’s Foreign Minister – had said that “the indiscriminate rocket attacks from Palestinian militants in Gaza must stop immediately”. She went on to express condolences “to the families of all the victims and to the Israeli people”, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.
This will surely be seen as a victory for those who pray for Israel to be treated fairly on the international stage, as Ms Mogherini was seen as one of those who follows the EU’s hard line on Israel, as reported in the last issue of HEART (April/May 2019).
While the statement was made on behalf of all the 28 member states, several governments, such as Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and Estonia, issued their own statements of support for Israel. Other member states, such as Sweden and Ireland, were more reserved.