(Jerusalem Post) Zalman Shoval - According to a "secret" report prepared by the Israel Foreign Ministry's Center for Political Research, Israel and Europe will find themselves on a collision course, causing serious economic and diplomatic damage to the Jewish state. An important underlying premise of the report - that Europe may soon match or exceed the influence of the U.S. - is certainly open to question. If anything, the gap in military power, not to mention willingness to project it, has only widened over the last few years. On the positive side, the bilateral relationship between Israel and most European states, including France, is far better than it appears. Economic and scientific ties in particular are rapidly expanding. Israel, after all, is more "European" - culturally, economically, and democratically - than any other state in the Middle East and several of the EU's members.
2004-11-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive