EU’s inaction on Gaza has one word: racism | Shada Islam

tHe is the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, whose team faces increasing criticism Controversial EU tariff agreement Agreed July. I hope it is EU complicity In the Israeli genocide in Gaza. This is probably what it should be.

I looked at the despair of nearly two years as the European government destroyed Gaza by bomb attacks after Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7, targeted strikes and forced starvation of Gaza. There are too many sanctions in the EU to deal with, and they still refuse to deploy; so much leverage refuses to pull it off. The group is Israel’s largest trading partner 32% of total Israeli transactions In 2024. However, at each meeting, EU leaders and foreign ministers failed to ensure that the majority of people needed to suspend the EU-Israel Association agreement. Despite pressure from Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, despite EU’s own human rights experts saying Israel has violated the agreement Human Rights Obligation.

Even moderate committee recommendations Partial suspension Israel’s 95 billion euros European research program – Josep Borrell, former head of foreign policy at the EU, described it as “Bad jokes”, given the scale of Israel’s atrocities – it is still blocked by Germany and Italy. Stop now Exports of military equipment to Israel can be used in Gaza. But this is after nearly two years of unreduced military support: arms export licenses from Germany only Total 485 million euros Equipment for 19 months after October 7.

I understand the historical sins of Europe, internal cleavage and Deep economic ties With Israel. However, it is impossible to ignore a more uncomfortable fact: the political and moral paralysis of Gaza in Europe and the Structural racism and Violence There are so many black, brown and Muslim Europeans facing each other every day. It is clear to me that the attitude towards Gaza is shaped by a persistent colonial idea that is embedded in the EU’s diplomatic, trade and immigration policies. The same dehumanized logic applies to racialized Europeans and refugee From Africa, Asia and the Middle East are now showing up in the abandonment of the EU Palestinian people.

European domestic and external biases are nurturing and maintaining each other. This connection is not abstract. It is clearly visible in terms of the treatment differences between Ukraine and Gaza. Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is correctly condemned by the EU Serious and unprecedented Sanctions against Moscow, donating more money to Kiev, and repeatedly condemned other states that did not follow the law. However, life in Palestine is seen as exhaustive and their pain is minimal Childhood robbery. Gaza’s suffering is a humanitarian crisis rather than a deliberate political choice, peeling, depoliticizing and disinfecting. When Palestinian-American academic Rashid Khalidi said the conflict was “The last colonial war in modern times”.

The morality of the EU’s inaction on Gaza cannot be partial or fragmented. It must include an awareness of how Europe’s past and present intersects, not only in Palestine, but in many of its actions on the global stage. The EU, which sees itself as a defender of international law and global justice, should be willing to have these difficult conversations – in fact, it should encourage them. However, most of the EU policy community that is centered around the EU is divided.

Without serious self-checking and long-term overdue action, the EU’s double standards will continue to undermine its democracy at home and its credibility abroad.

Updated in 2020 Anti-racism action plan It can provide a way forward. But to achieve this goal, combat measures Shocking state Discrimination within the EU must be clearly reflected on European history. This is also overdue. Action plans have lost momentum, and recent bureaucracy reorganization has been out of place Michaela Mouathe first EU anti-racism coordinator, many fears could further undermine the group’s equal agenda in the coming years.

Nevertheless, public pressure and Objections in EU institutionsIncluding senior officials, they are growing. von der Leyen is criticized for being determined Pro-Israel prejudicehave come out Oppose Israel’s plan to occupy Gaza. It’s far from enough. Critics of the EU’s position are condemning its double standards, betrayal of international law and the right to erode its credibility. Israel’s plan to occupy the entire Gaza must be stopped, food must be brought in urgently, and a ceasefire must be immediately.

Any serious estimate of the EU’s inaction Gaza Without facing structural racism and lingering colonial hierarchy that still shapes the European worldview, it will remain incomplete. Gaza deprived of pretending. EU policymakers must ultimately face these truths, no matter how harsh, and take action to dismantle them.

• Shada Islam is a commentator on EU affairs based in Brussels. She runs the new Horizons Project, a strategic, analytical and consulting company