- Статьи
- World
- Friendship in advance: why relations between Western countries and Israel are collapsing
Friendship in advance: why relations between Western countries and Israel are collapsing
The Israeli lobby is gradually losing support in the United States and EU countries. The recent defeat of Viktor Orban, who was considered one of Israel's closest allies in Europe, in the Hungarian elections jeopardized the protection of the interests of the Jewish state government in Brussels: 70% of Europeans have a negative attitude towards Benjamin Netanyahu's policies. In the United States, Israel's approval rating also dropped: about 60% of Americans began to feel bad about the country. How the negative perception of Israel in Europe and the United States will affect its position on the world stage, how it will manifest itself and whether the state will be able to overcome the crisis — in the Izvestia article.
Israel is losing allies
Recently, the support of the Israeli lobby in the United States and the EU has significantly weakened. According to a Pew Research Center survey, an average of 70% of European respondents have a negative view of Israel's actions in the Middle East and the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Almost immediately after the defeat of Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the recent elections in Hungary, the topic of the "abolition" of the Jewish state became one of the key topics on the agenda of Brussels. The official, being an ally of Donald Trump and Netanyahu, blocked anti-Israeli decisions within the European Union. Now Orban's political opponent, Peter Magyar, has come to power, who is much cooler about West Jerusalem and is ready to "fight" with it.
Demonstration in support of Palestine in Dublin. The year 2023
In addition to Budapest, there are many others in Europe who want to "teach" Israel a lesson. The authorities of Spain, Slovenia and Ireland, in response to the IDF's actions in Lebanon, called on the European Commission (EC) to discuss the suspension of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel, concluded in 2000. For the first time, Spain and Ireland called for its revision in 2024 due to the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, but they were unable to garner sufficient support. This issue came up again in September 2025, when the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced plans to suspend financial support for Israel. She cited the "rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip" as the reason. However, so far the countries of the association have not been able to agree on sanctions against Israel.
Such initiatives began to be supported not only by left-wing politicians, but also by right-wing forces. For example, Rome is gradually reducing military cooperation with the Jewish state, because, as analysts say, the chairman of the Italian Council of Ministers, Giorgio Meloni, is afraid to "follow in Orban's footsteps." Not only are her policies not acceptable to European elites, but her association with the heads of the United States and Israel can damage her reputation in the run-up to the 2027 elections.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni during a joint press conference in Rome. The year 2023
A serious situation is developing on the other side of the Atlantic: 60% of American adults disapprove of cooperation between the United States and Israel. This indicator is higher among young people. According to a separate NBC poll, three quarters of young people between the ages of 18 and 29 are more sympathetic to the Palestinians than to the Israelis. Previously, representatives of the Democratic Party mostly disapproved of the course of the state, but now Republican politicians have joined them. It is worth noting that this blow is much more painful for Israel, since Washington has historically been the country's key ally on the world stage.
Data from the Council on Foreign Relations shows that since 1948, the United States has provided the Jewish State with more than $300 billion in economic and military aid, adjusted for inflation. Today, the United States generates about 15% of the country's defense budget and protects Israel's interests in the Middle East region.
The long-term support of the States is mainly structured on the basis of multi-year agreements. During his 18 years as Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has always been a supporter of American aid. In 2016, he asked the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, to extend the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for 2019-2028. Despite the cold relations between the leaders, the former head of the White House showed generosity: within 10 years, the volume of American military aid increased by 26%, from $3 billion to $3.8 billion. In total, over the entire period, the volume of support amounted to $38 billion, including $33 billion for foreign military financing and $5 billion for missile defense systems.
Meeting of US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York. The year 2016
Even among the main U.S. allies, Israel stands in a separate "special category." Data from the Council on Foreign Relations shows that countries such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Vietnam have historically been among the next largest recipients of aid. However, Israel receives twice as much financial and military support as any of the listed States.
Some experts believe that American politicians will begin to massively abandon support for Israel in the near future, on the eve of congressional elections in the fall of 2026. However, the real struggle will unfold during the presidential race in 2028. Candidates from either party, whether Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom from the Democrats or Jay Dee Vance and Marco Rubio from the Republicans, are likely to try to move away from the toxic topic of Israel so as not to alienate the electorate.
Market relations
The European Union is Israel's largest trading partner. The trade turnover between the EU and the Jewish state reaches $43 billion annually, which is more than with the United States. The largest import industries from Israel are machinery and equipment for transportation, chemical industry products, agricultural products and other industrial goods. A similar pattern is observed in European exports, but various weapons are also exported from the EU — for example, spare parts for Israeli fighter jets, without which the IDF will have a hard time.
Haifa Commercial Port
If the European Union does impose restrictions on Israel, then in practice this will mean that the country will lose market preferences: imported goods will be subject to duties at the level of countries that do not have free trade agreements with the EU. At the same time, 60% of Israeli products will in any case be imported to Europe duty-free in accordance with WTO rules, but all other exports may be subject to additional duties in the amount of €227 million per year.
Despite the fact that Brussels has not yet decided to impose large-scale sanctions on Israel, in the fall of 2025 it stopped supporting the country under the "Instrument of Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation — Global Europe" program. The financial mechanism with a budget of about 80 billion euros, the implementation period of which is set for 2021-2027, should eradicate poverty and financially support the EU's neighboring countries, as well as some African, Latin American and other states. Under the program, from 2025 to 2027, Israel was supposed to receive an average of € 6 million per year, which is approximately 0.001% of the state's GDP for 2025. So this step represents a symbolic restriction rather than a real blockade.
Israel may also lose access to the Horizon Europe science program and its funding. In July 2025, the European Commission proposed suspending grants due to the blockade of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, but this decision was blocked by four EU countries, including Germany. Since 2021, Israel has received €1.11 billion for 921 projects, with 231 of them closely linked to the Israeli army and the country's Ministry of Defense, despite the ban on funding military research.
American-made F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force
In turn, America, in addition to financial assistance, provides approximately 70% of Israel's arms imports. For example, at the end of January 2026, the US State Department approved potential supplies of military equipment to West Jerusalem worth more than $6.5 billion under three separate contracts, and a month later, in early March, it authorized the purchase of 12,000 aerial bombs worth $151.8 million. The United States also supplies Israel with components for the Iron Dome air defense system. If the United States does stop supporting the country, it may result in the loss of huge cash and arms flows that West Jerusalem receives from Washington on a regular basis.
The Iron Dome air defense system battery in Jerusalem
However, a situation in which the United States and the EU refuse to cooperate with Israel will negatively affect Washington and Brussels, among others, since West Jerusalem has influence on the Persian Gulf countries under the "Abraham Agreements" concluded in 2020-2021. The Middle East region is important to Americans and Europeans because, despite the war in Iran, it is a promising market for energy and other minerals. Countries are forced to maintain their loyalty to Israel's actions in the international arena in order not to lose their supplier.
Will Israel be able to get out of the crisis
For Israel, getting out of the current crisis situation will be an ordeal, says Dmitry Brije, an expert on the Middle East. The analyst is confident that this will happen when powerful political changes take place in the country, for example, the change of the ruling right-wing Likud party.
— Israel's problem lies not in diplomatic relations with other states, but in the disapproval of its actions by the population. The masses are against the policy of occupation, the oppression of Palestinians, the killing of civilians in neighboring countries, strikes, and so on. After the Middle East wars, the world will not be the same again. I think fewer and fewer countries will cooperate with Israel, because everyone will clearly see these double standards, especially when talking about human rights. The UN conventions are a hoax, because no one, unfortunately, neither the United States nor Israel, adheres to them," the expert shared his opinion.
An Israeli tank on the border with Lebanon in northern Israel
In turn, American political scientist Malek Dudakov proposed a milder solution to the crisis. Anti-Israeli sentiments in the world community began to manifest themselves back in 2024, at the height of the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip, but the "trend" worsened with the outbreak of the war in Iran. The expert suggests that this trend will decline when the government and the military forces of the state stop escalating in the Middle East.
— Now it would be a logical step for the Israeli government to reflect on its actions, take a more realistic position in the Middle East conflicts and generally try to make the country appear less negatively on the world agenda. Then the anti-Israel wave will subside on both sides of the Atlantic. However, if the United States and the EU are equally opposed to Israel, this may lead to the imposition of sanctions and the cutting off of arms supplies to the IDF," the expert concluded.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
