Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that ‘the twin challenges that make Israel particularly significant for Europe is one, to seize and fashion a bright future; and second, to resist a dark past.”
During a joint press conference with visiting Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, the Israeli leader took the opportunity to once again warn the countries of Europe of perpetual attempts by radical Islam to regress humanity to a very dark period, namely the beginning of the Middle Ages – which according to Netanyahu is exemplified, first and foremost, by the Islamic Republic of Iran, and secondly by the extreme Muslim organization ‘Daesh’, the Arabic Acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The Prime Minister further asserted that as a consequence to Israel’s efforts to defend itself against Islamic forces, Jerusalem has also become the defender of the Middle East at large, which consequently also protects the continent of Europe. In Netanyahu’s words: “Israel is in the forefront of the battle against radical Islam, and I would say very simply that if Israel wasn’t here in the Middle East, then I think the Middle East would fall to radical Islam. The fact that we are here, the fact that we protect ourselves, is obviously very important for us, but in defending ourselves, we’re defending the entire Middle East. And by defending the Middle East, we defend Europe.”
President Grabar-Kitarović, on her part, echoed a statement by a Croatian soldier who emphasized the importance that Western countries battle adversaries while they are still a long away from their respective homelands. As such, the Croatian leader voiced her hope for an increase in cooperation in the sectors of security and intelligence between Zagreb and Jerusalem. According to her: “Working together and combating the threats of terrorism, of what migrations bring them, of human trafficking, of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction excreta will be most important for the security of our nations and of our people. And I hope that in that sense we will increase our cooperation in defense, and defense industry as well, in security and intelligence and also in many other areas.”
With regard to anti-Semitism, that according to several studies is on the rise across Europe, President Grabar-Kitarović stressed that Croatia – which is set to take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Finland in January 2020 – will promote additional activities to address the dangerous phenomenon. “As far as anti-Semitism is concerned, as the Prime Minister I want to reassure you that in the first half of the year 2020, you will not only have a friend at the helm of the European Union, but we have also taken care that we have several activities that address remembrance of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism,” she said.