Media

Topic

Israel

Strengthening EU-Israel Ties and Working towards a Negotiated Two-State Solution.

The AJC Transatlantic Institute is a firm proponent of strengthening the EU-Israel relationship, which is based on shared democratic values, interests and history. Israel’s unique expertise in areas ranging from counter-terrorism to cybersecurity and high-tech to entrepreneurship reinforce the need for an even deeper, strategic EU-Israel partnership.

While AJC has long advocated for a negotiated two-state solution to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, progress in the peace process doesn’t depend on Israel alone and thus shouldn’t be a precondition to deepening the mutually beneficial EU-Israel relationship.

We seek to inform the policy debate in Brussels on EU-Israel ties, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Jewish state’s place in the world.

 

AJC's Project Interchange

Through AJC’s Project Interchange, we organize for European policy-makers, diplomats and opinion leaders week-long seminars to Israel and the Palestinian territories to experience first-hand the complexities on the ground.

⇨ Learn more about AJC’s Project Interchange

Related events

October 13, 2021

AJC's Transatlantic Friends of Israel Opens Austrian Chapter

After the launch of the Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) inter-parliamentary group in the EU Parliament in July 2019, the first national chapter opened on October 13 in the Austrian parliament, under the leadership of Chair MP Martin Engelberg and the support of lawmakers from the Greens, the Social-Democrats and NEOS, the liberal party.
December 10, 2019

20 EU Diplomats Visit Gaza Border with AJC

AJC Jerusalem co-organized with the Delegation of the EU to Israel a one-day tour for 20 EU Deputy Chiefs of Mission to the area surrounding Gaza. At the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing, where some 15,000 tons of goods pass daily, the diplomats saw up-close Israel’s critical role in ensuring the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza are met. The group also spoke with Israelis in the town of Netiv Haasara, who live under the constant threat of rocket attacks.
November 19, 2019

Transatlantic Friends of Israel Breakfast Discussion

The Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) group hosted Brigadier General (Res.) Assaf Orion, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, for a breakfast discussion on Israel’s geostrategic situation and the Jewish state’s multi-faceted security challenges. The exclusive audience included 35 cross-party MEPs and parliamentary advisors. H.E. Aharon Leshno-Yaar, Israel’s Ambassador to the EU, and Christina Tomlinson, Minister Counselor for Public Affairs of the U.S. Mission to the EU, also attended.

Media

23/09/2019

BDS Is Antisemitic

In his latest article in New Europe, AJC Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal unmasks the patently antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The group seeks nothing less than the de-facto dismemberment of a UN Member State: “Irrespective of whether that state in question is Jewish or say, Irish, to call for its end cannot possibly be considered a “legitimate political position.”

22/07/2019

What’s TFI all about?

After the launch of the cross-party Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI) in the EU Parliament, Counterpoint host Daniel Schwammenthal spoke with TFI Chair MEP Lukas Mandl and Vice Chair MEP Petras Auštrevičius (Renew Europe) from Lithuania about the group’s priorities, including upgrading the EU-Israel Association Agreement, a speedy convening of an Association Council, and overall stronger ties between Israel, Europe, and the U.S. on the basis of shared democratic values.

09/07/2019

AJC Launches Inter-Parliamentary U.S.-Israel-EU Friendship Group

Brussels – 9 July 2019 –The AJC Transatlantic Institute launched today the inter-parliamentary “Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI)” group in the EU Parliament. Chaired by Austrian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Lukas Mandl (EPP), this is the first-ever cross-party friendship caucus...

28/06/2019

A Conversation with Pompeo

In this exclusive interview first aired at the Global Forum, AJC’s annual flagship conference held on June 2-4 in Washington, AJC CEO David Harris speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about rising anti-Semitism, the future of American global leadership, why the Trump Administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, and the need to bolster the crucial U.S.-Israel alliance.

26/06/2019

Why History Still Matters: The 1967 Six Day War

The lessons of the 1967 Six-Day-War are today as relevant as ever. AJC CEO David Harris, writing in the Times of Israel, leafs through the history of Israel’s second existential war of self-defence, dotted as it is with the Arab world’s many missed opportunities to create a Palestinian state and make peace with Israel.

25/06/2019

Is UNRWA an Obstacle to Peace?

Dr. Einat Wilf, former Labour Party Member of the Knesset, and Adi Schwartz, former Senior Editor at Haaretz, wrote the best-selling book "The War of Return" about the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Counterpoint host Daniel Schwammenthal discusses with the authors how its mandate may stand in the way of a negotiated two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.  

23/05/2019

NATO and Israel are Right to Deepen Ties

Writing in New Europe, AJC Transatlantic Institute Deputy Director Michael Sieveking argues that NATO and Israel are right to deepen their mutually-beneficial relations. The political-military alliance can tap into Jerusalem’s unique expertise, such as counter-terrorism and cybersecurity, while forging even closer intelligence ties that have already saved countless lives in the West.

29/03/2019

Cyprus, Greece, Israel Alliance Serves U.S. Interests

Fueled by the discoveries of natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel are forging an alliance of like-minded Western democracies that deserves U.S. support. AJC CEO David Harris and Endy Zemenides, head of the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), make the case in the Times of Israel that the “steel and coal of the 21st century” might even usher in a new era of peace and security in the region.

07/01/2019

Even-Handed or Heavy-Handed Relations?

In “Mission Impossible? Repairing the Ties between Europe and Israel,” a publication of “The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs,” Transatlantic Institute Director Daniel Schwammenthal highlights the EU’s propensity to look at its relationship with the Jewish state predominantly through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

13/09/2018

AJC Slams Extreme and Unbalanced EU Parliament Resolution Castigating Israel

Strasbourg – 13 September 2018 – The AJC Transatlantic Institute today condemned the European Parliament’s unbalanced resolution castigating Israel for its plans to demolish the illegal Bedouin settlement Khan Al-Ahmar. The resolution’s harsh language against the Jewish...