A State Beyond the Pale: Europe's Problem With Israel

The Jewish state of Israel has now acquired the status of a pariah across much of the West and especially in Europe. For many, it has become the contemporary equivalent of apartheid South Africa—a system and a state with no legitimate place in the modern world. Israel's conflict with the Palestinians and the wider Muslim world also takes place across one of the great fault lines in global politics. No one with a serious interest in international affairs can ignore it. But why have so many people and institutions of influence in Europe chosen to place themselves on the side of that fault line which opposes Israel? Where exactly does all this hostility come from? Can this really be put down to a revival of anti-Semitism on a continent which gave the world the Holocaust? This book looks at the roots of anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe and shows why there is now a risk that it may even spread to the U.S. In the author's view, the Israel-Palestine conflict can be seen as a test case for the West's ability to stand up for the values it claims as its own. In Europe, important institutions and individuals are now failing that test, and this book explains why.

Robin Shepherd is a former senior fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, and a former foreign correspondent for the Times in Moscow. The author of Czechoslovakia: The Velvet Revolution and Beyond, he has appeared frequently on the BBC, CNN, and other broadcast outlets.