“Europe’s Stage of Hypocrisy: Von der Leyen and Gaza

In the grand theater of European politics, where diplomacy often masquerades as virtue, the recent confrontation between Spanish MEP Irene Montero and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has peeled back the curtain, revealing a stage set with the corpses of Palestinian children and the applause of complicity.

The Hypocrisy of Humanitarianism

Von der Leyen's recent State of the Union address, though a departure from her usual unwavering support for Israel, still falls short of genuine accountability. Proposing sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers and suggesting a partial suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement, she attempts to position herself as a champion of human rights. Yet, these measures are more symbolic than substantive, serving to placate public outcry without disrupting the status quo. Her actions echo the appeasement of tyrants in history, where gestures of condemnation are made while the machinery of oppression continues unabated.

Montero's Unflinching Truth

Irene Montero, with unyielding clarity, has labeled the situation in Gaza as genocide—a term that von der Leyen and her cohorts have avoided. Montero's accusation that the EU is complicit in this atrocity by continuing arms supplies to Israel is a stark reminder of Europe's role in perpetuating violence under the guise of diplomacy. Her call for accountability is not just a political stance but a moral imperative that challenges the EU to confront its darkest truths.

The EU's Dance with Death

The European Union's actions—or lack thereof—reveal a disturbing pattern of prioritizing geopolitical alliances over human lives. While von der Leyen's recent proposals might suggest a shift, they are insufficient to alter the EU's trajectory. The continued flow of arms to Israel and the hesitancy to impose meaningful sanctions expose the EU's reluctance to sever ties with a state committing atrocities. This dance with death, marked by inaction and appeasement, tarnishes Europe's claim to moral leadership on the world stage.

A Call to Conscience

Montero's impassioned plea serves as a clarion call to the EU: cease the complicity, end the hypocrisy, and stand unequivocally against genocide. The time for half-measures and diplomatic doublespeak has passed. Europe must choose: will it continue to be an accomplice to atrocity, or will it rise to uphold the values it professes to champion?

In the words of the late Elie Wiesel, "Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim." The EU's silence is no longer a position of neutrality but a tacit endorsement of the suffering in Gaza. It is time for Europe to confront its conscience and act decisively to end the bloodshed.

Comments

Delivering the Dead: How the World Watches Gaza Bleed.

Delivering the Dead: How the World Watches Gaza Bleed “ I delivered a beheaded woman who was nine months pregnant. ” That’s not a horror-film script. That’s not medieval history. That is the testimony of an Australian medic standing in a Gaza hospital in 2025, describing what it means to “ practice medicine ” under Israeli bombardment. A nine-months-pregnant woman , decapitated , her body torn open so that the child she carried could be pulled out lifeless — and somehow this is still not enough to shake the comfortable democracies of the West into anything resembling a conscience. We should probably give the Nobel Prize for Creative Euphemism to the politicians who still call this “self-defense.” After all, there’s nothing quite as defensive as severing the head of an expectant mother and forcing foreign doctors to deliver her dead child in the rubble of what used to be a hospital . Bravo, civilization . The tragedy is not just the atrocity itself. It’s the smug perfo...

Docu Drama. The voice of Hind Rajab.

The Red Phone Rings, but the World Hits Mute The world just gave a 23-minute standing ovation —yes, twenty-three full minutes of clapping —for The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Venice Film Festival . Applause so long it could’ve filled Hind’s final desperate phone call to the Red Crescent. Bravo, humanity. We couldn’t save her when it mattered, but at least we can applaud her ghost. This is the new morality play: a five-year-old Palestinian child, trapped in a bullet-riddled car , whispering “please come, I’m scared ,” while surrounded by the corpses of her family. The Red Crescent tried . Paramedics drove toward her and were killed too . Israel buried them in silence . And the “ civilized world ”? It buried her in its news cycle . But now—don’t worry— we have a movie . Starring Hind’s voice. Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. Produced by an ensemble of Hollywood conscience-bearers : Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Glazer, Jemima Khan , and others. ...

The End of Zionism? Welcome to the Funeral Nobody Wants to Admit Is Overdue

Of course. Haaretz recently published an opinion piece by Ithamar Handelman -Smith titled “ Some Say It’s the End of Zionism, and I Say That’s All Right .” And what impeccable timing: as Israel carries out a near-two-year campaign of siege, famine, and bombardment in Gaza — slaughtering families, burying aid workers with their ambulances, and literally starving children to death — someone in Israel finally whispers the unspeakable: maybe Zionism, that 20th-century project of “ Jewish salvation ,” has outlived its moral shelf life. Bravo. The house is burning, bodies are scattered in the street, and the philosopher shows up with a garden hose . Zionism: Success Story or Crime Scene? Handelman-Smith argues that Zionism achieved its success : a Jewish state, a safe haven, a fortress against the ghosts of Europe’s crimes . But like every “ success story ” drenched in other people’s blood , it didn’t age well. What began as refuge turned into domination; what was called “ ...

Dockers of Conscience: Italy’s Brave Guardians of Gaza

At a time when most governments avert their eyes , when institutions choose silence over principle, it is often the hands hardened by real work — the hands of dockworkers— that lift the banner of humanity. In Genoa , those hands belong to the members of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) and the dockworkers’ collective CALP ( Collettivo Autonomo Lavoratori Portuali ) . These are not new voices. For years they have stood where conscience demands —on the cold concrete of the docks , blocking ships laden with weapons destined for wars , refusing to let Italy’s ports be complicit in bloodshed. USB , born in 2010 out of grassroots struggles , has carried a proud history of international solidarity. Its members have consistently placed labor at the service of justice, from strikes against austerity to protests against militarism . CALP , forged in Genoa’s port , has a more direct history with Palestine: blocking Israeli-bound weapons , organizing boycotts, and declaring, time ...

Britain’s Recognition of Palestine: A Century of Complicity in Disguise.

So we’ve reached this moment: Keir Starmer’s UK “ recognises the State of Palestine. ” Applause lines up. Speeches made. Headlines dazzled. But behind the pomp, the guns, the exports, the intelligence, the training — history rings out in mocking laughter. Because Britain has been complicit since day one. This recognition is not redemption . It’s theatre. 1. The Original Sin: Balfour Declaration Let’s go back. Because if you don’t know your history, you’ll be fooled by the future. On 2 November 1917 , Arthur James Balfour (Britain’s Foreign Secretary) wrote to Lord Rothschild, and officially declared: “His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object , it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine , or the rights and political sta...

Ainnbeen

Search This Blog