Brussels – 19 October 2023 – The AJC Transatlantic Institute welcomes today’s European Parliament resolution backing Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for the elimination of the terror group Hamas.  In a resolution supported by the five main political groups the Parliament condemned Hamas’ attack against the Jewish state and Iran’s support for the terror organization. The resolution was adopted with an overwhelming majority of 500 votes in favor, 21 votes against and 24 abstentions. 

“This overwhelming vote by the European Parliament is another strong demonstration that the EU stands unequivocally with Israel and the Jewish diaspora in the aftermath of the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust,” said Daniel Schwammenthal, Director of the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) Brussels-based EU Office, the AJC Transatlantic Institute. 

“We are tremendously pleased to see that the European Parliament backs Israel’s right to self-defense and recognizes that Israel must defeat Hamas in the same way the Islamic State was defeated. Recent terror attacks in France and Belgium have unfortunately shown that Islamic terrorism knows no borders and threatens the Western, democratic order as a whole. Thus, the West must stand united in combating it,” continued Schwammenthal.

The European Parliament’s resolution follows a joint visit by the President of the Parliament Roberta Metsola and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to Israel on October 13 in which they expressed their solidarity with the Jewish state. On October 15 the European Council also adopted a statement backing Israel’s right to defend itself.

The terror attack on October 7 was the worst attack in Israel’s history. Over 1400 Israelis were killed and a further 199 Israelis and foreign nationals, including European citizens, were kidnapped by Hamas.