Israel

Israel's FM Cuts Ties With EU's Kallas Amid 'Apartheid' Row

Is Israel right to cut ties with the EU over apartheid comparisons or is this just political theater?

Published 5 days ago

Israel's FM Cuts Ties With EU's Kallas Amid 'Apartheid' Row

story

Above: Kaja Kallas listens to Gideon Saar at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 24, 2025. Image credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Israel narrative

Kallas compared Israel to apartheid South Africa in private meetings and then refused to deny it publicly — that silence speaks volumes. Cutting ties is the right response when an EU official levels such accusations at a democratic ally without clear factual or legal grounding. The EU's selective outrage, sanctioning Israeli citizens while continuing support for a Palestinian Authority that still rewards convicted militants, exposes a striking double standard.

Israel Hayom FOX News The Washington Examiner The Jewish Chronicle

Anti-Israel narrative

The U.N., ICJ and major human rights organizations have all found Israel's treatment of Palestinians consistent with apartheid, so Kallas was hardly advancing a fringe position. Sa'ar's decision to sever ties looks far more like political theater than a principled diplomatic response. The EU has every right to hold a democratic ally accountable when respected international bodies point to systematic discrimination and segregation in the occupied territories.