Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, after 40 years of an almost constant degradation in its diplomatic relations, the European Union and the state of Israel have realized that a strained association could potentially do much damage and that a closer cooperation is necessary. The paper looks at how Israel and the E.U. are putting their distrust in one another to the side and are finally agreeing on joint projects, which range from economic trade to a collaboration for the fight against terrorism to the Middle East Peace Process. The paper also examines the history of European-Israel relations and discusses whether Europe and Israel can ever have a stable relationship even with their baggage-laden history weighing them down.

Outline:
Birth of a Nation: A Brief History of EU-Israeli Relations
Cooperation and Discrepancy

From the Paper:

"The creation of the state of Israel on May 15th, 1948 was the pinnacle of Zionist policies, and the beginning of constant clashes with the nation's Arab neighbors. Europe's backing of Israel at the time (by Europe is primarily meant France, Germany and Britain) was due to several important factors. "Europe feels a historical responsibility towards the Jewish state and is attached to Israel as a consequence." The deaths of 6 million Jews as a direct result of World War II weighed heavily on European minds, and no one would have dared criticize then the right of Israel to exist. Now that the world was well aware of the atrocities committed in concentration camps, and just a year after the Nuremberg trials, the newly created state was riding high on a wave of sympathy from around the world, and relied deeply on Europe for help. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Europe's problem with Ariel Sharon", by Suzanne Gershowitz and Emanuele Ottolenghi, Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2005
• "Israel and Europe, the troubled relationship: between perceptions and realities", by Gisela Dachs and Joel Peters, Israeli European Policy Network, 2005
• "Does Israel belong in the EU and NATO?", by Ronald D. Asmus and Bruce P. Jackson, Policy Review Journal of Feb. 2005
• "Report: Israel set to collide with EU", by Tom Regan, Christian Science Monitor of Oct. 15th, 2004
• "French Jews must move to Israel", BBC News, July 18th 2004

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