Yedioth Ahronoth: Israel faces a political tsunami and international isolation due to the Gaza war
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, in a political analysis by writer Itamar Eichner, revealed an unprecedented escalation in the international isolation facing Israel as a result of its ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe there.
“The series of attacks on Jews around the world, Israel’s exclusion from the Horizon 2020 plan for international research development, along with the escalation of boycott campaigns and the successive recognition of a Palestinian state, are all indications that the political tsunami against Israel has reached its peak,” Eichner said, noting that Israel is losing the support of countries once considered among its closest allies.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted an Israeli political source as describing Israel’s exclusion from the Horizon program as a “catastrophe and a severe blow,” especially since Israel has participated in the program since the 1990s.
The Israeli political source believed that this move would negatively impact its academic and diplomatic standing and could pave the way for its exclusion from international institutions such as FIFA and the Eurovision Song Contest.
The analysis added that there has been a worrying decline in foreign investment and an increase in cultural and academic boycotts, amid mounting international criticism of events in Gaza.
He also pointed to the election of Zohran Mamdani, the progressive candidate for mayor of New York, as another sign of growing “hatred of Netanyahu,” even within the Jewish community and within both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States.
Eichner emphasized that a ceasefire in Gaza is no longer just a humanitarian necessity, but an urgent diplomatic imperative to reduce the enormous international pressure on Israel and Jewish communities abroad, saying, “If there is no radical change in Israel’s policy, its international standing will deteriorate further”.
He concluded by saying, “The illusions that some have pinned on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation or on Israeli control over aid distribution to subdue Hamas have been shattered on the ground,” adding that “the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has become the greatest weakness that threatens Israel’s global image”.
