The EU has jumped on the anti-democratic freight train that pulled out the station in Washington D.C. several weeks ago with the first round of unprecedented, draconian sanctions against Israeli civil society organizations.
The use of opaque, extra-legal tools to stifle lawful and legitimate protest was soon imitated by other Western governments, with no consideration of the far-reaching consequences for democracies worldwide.
The subsequent waves of sanctions have moved beyond the initial pretext in which the first round of sanctions were cloaked, “ settler violence,” and now openly target the leadership of the settlement enterprise. If the EU sanctions Regavim, a policy and research think tank that has been at the forefront of legal and legislative activism in support of Zionist public policy, the ramifications for Israel’s democracy, judiciary, legislature and sovereignty will be profound.
Let us all hope that the EU will think twice before criminalizing Zionism and undermining the Israeli judicial and law enforcement systems.
