The EU’s Split Personality – Elliott Abrams
(dailyalert.org, July 25, 2014)

In the course of the Gaza war, several key European leaders from Germany, France, and Britain have made tough, sensible statements supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and demanding a cease-fire that does not give in to Hamas demands. But not one of those countries could bring itself to vote against a foul and vicious resolution in the UN Human Rights Council this week. Every single European country that is a Council member abstained.

    This is a biased, one-sided, mendacious resolution. The word “Hamas” is not mentioned. The firing of thousands of rockets into Israel is not mentioned. The massive system of attack tunnels through which Hamas terrorists have entered Israel is not mentioned. The fact that Hamas hides weapons in UN schools is not mentioned. So Western democracies should not have abstained. Having worked in those UN precincts for many years, it seems obvious to me that one reason the EU can so rarely persuade the Arab group to amend its drafts enough to be acceptable is that the Arabs know the EU will never oppose them.The writer was a deputy national security advisor in the George W. Bush administration. (Council on Foreign Relations)