A continent divided: Europe’s public turns against Israel while leaders look away

MILAN (CN) — Rain or shine, rows of protesters take their positions amid the whirl of tourists in Piazza Duomo in a daily stand against what they see as Israel’s atrocities and seizure of Palestinian territory.This protest in the heart of Italy’s financial capital is among scores of pro-Palestinian events that continue across Europe nearly three years after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.“We’ve been brought together by the scandal of inaction by our leaders and by our rage, pain and frustration over what’s happening in Palestine,” said Andrea De Lotto, a 61-year-old elementary school teacher and protest spokesman.The persistence reflects a broader shift: A growing number of Europeans feel supporting Israel is as wrong as tolerating apartheid was in South Africa.De Lotto called it “absolutely shameful” for governments to do so little as Israel carries out what many legal experts deem war crimes and ethnic cleansing.“It’s almost more criminal for you, who’s on the outside looking in, to support what’s happening,” De Lotto said. “Not only are you not doing anything, you’re actually encouraging it by providing help and support.”Across Europe, public support for Israel has sharply dropped, recent polling by the Pew Research Center and YouGov shows.Support for arms embargoes, sanctions, trade bans and boycotts is also gaining momentum.Israel’s attacks and EuropeIsrael has done a lot to antagonize Europeans.Gaza’s only Roman Catholic church was struck by an Israeli bomb in July 2025, killing three and wounding a priest. Israel blamed it on a “stray shell.” In March, police blocked Jerusalem’s Latin patriarch from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass. The Vatican denounced the “grave precedent” and violation of religious freedom.Taybeh, the only entirely Christian village in the West Bank, has been repeatedly attacked by Jewish settlers. In Lebanon, Israel has fired on United Nations peacekeepers, many of whom are European.Since May 2025, Israel has violently stopped boats full of activists, including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, from delivering aid to Gaza.Boats carrying activists and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza reposition in the port during a symbolic send-off as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)“The EU should impose tough sanctions on responsible Israeli ministers, suspend the trade agreement with Israel and impose an arms embargo,” said Hanna Gedin, a left-wing Swedish member of the European Parliament.Last month, Israel blocked her from entering due to her “anti-Israel” statements, such as supporting the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Gedin blasted Europe’s political leadership.“What we have seen is that contacts with Israel continue as usual; this impunity is very upsetting,” she said in an email. “I believe that this political indifference will go down in history as one of the greatest shames of our time.”Double standard dilemmaDespite Israel’s military campaigns and carnage, it’s largely business as usual between Israel and Europe.Many nations have taken Israel’s side, including crackdowns on pro-Palestinian demonstrations. In Great Britain and Germany, scores of people have been detained.Trade remains robust. Europe is Israel’s biggest trading partner with about $18.8 billion of Israeli products exported to the EU last year, according to EU figures. Trade between the EU and Israel reached about $80 billion in 2024.Weapons flow back and forth too.Germany, Israel’s biggest European arms supplier, approved over $900 million in arms export licenses to Israel in the first five months of 2026, according to news reports.European governments face lawsuits over possible violations of laws forbidding weapons sales if they could be used to commit war crimes.A Palestinian child walks through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)Meanwhile, Israeli athletes and entertainers participate in events across Europe, including the hugely popular Eurovision Song Contest. This year, Israel’s continued inclusion prompted Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland to drop out.“Responding completely differently to Ukraine and what’s going on in Palestine clearly suggests double standards,” said Yair Wallach, a social and cultural historian of modern Palestine and Israel at SOAS, University of London.Wallach called the EU’s failure to act surprising but said decades of complicity had already left the bloc with limited credibility in upholding international law.The EU is often constrained by the need for foreign policy decisions to win approval from all 27 members.“There are just so many different positions on Israel,” said Manlio Graziano, an Italian geopolitics professor at Sciences Po and Sorbonne University in Paris.Ben Gidley, an expert on antisemitism and Israel at Birkbeck, University of London, said: “Its leaders like to talk about shared values, but in fact the political differences within and across the member states are enormous, making it hard to act in a genuinely values-based way.”And Europe has little clout in the Middle East.“Europe just doesn’t have leverage,” said Scott Lucas, a professor of international politics at University College Dublin. “The Europeans are off to the side on some of these issues now.”Israel’s aggression spurs some actionStill, individual countries have sought to exert pressure.Since 2024, France, Great Britain, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Slovenia, Luxembourg and Malta have recognized Palestine as a state.In May, the EU agreed to sanction several extremist Israeli settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.In mostly symbolic moves, Spain and Ireland banned the import of goods from settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.On Sept. 8, Great Britain joined the ban on trade with illegal settlements. Other governments are under pressure to follow suit.Settlement exports to Europe are estimated at about $267 million annually, according to World Bank figures.Gidley said leaders in Brussels and national capitals deserve credit for denouncing Israel’s actions. He said Europe has consistently called on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, supported the Palestinian Authority and condemned the mistreatment of detainees.“These steps don’t go anywhere as far as Palestine solidarity activists would like, but they contrast sharply with the U.S.,” Gidley said by email.Big decisions awaitA debate looms over whether the EU should suspend its free trade agreement with Israel and sanction officials.The 2000 agreement made “respect for human rights and democratic principles” core to maintaining trade. Critics contend the deal should be broken off — what Wallach called a major step.“Israel’s main political support is the U.S.,” he said. “But economically, the EU is more important.”For the past two decades, Europe has been aligned with Israel, but that closeness is being questioned as Israel’s attacks in the Middle East drive up energy prices and hurt supplies.Debate around suspending trade ties only started in earnest last September after Israel bombed Hamas leaders in Qatar during ceasefire talks.“That was a bridge too far,” Wallach said.But it remains doubtful the EU will suspend the agreement, especially with Italy and Germany opposed.Also, leaders may view Iran and its allies as an even bigger threat to supply chains, Gidley said.“Geopolitical considerations tend to trump ethical ones for most member states,” he said.Protesters hold a daily protest in support of Palestinians in Milan's Piazza Duomo. Photo taken September 2025. (Cain Burdeau/Courthouse News Service)Still, the persistence of protests like the one in Milan’s Piazza Duomo shows the mood in Europe has hardened against Israel.“Last June, 14 months ago, we decided to try doing a daily event in the square,” De Lotto said. “We started with 10 people and there are 150 people now.”He said the group was determined.“No one feels like quitting,” he said. “We know this protest may seem crazy because there’s a chance it may have no end.”Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads