Europe is preparing for war again. Russia is threatening European security, governments are investing billions in rearmament, missile defense, and civil protection, and suddenly there is renewed discussion about how cities, infrastructure, and populations can be protected in an emergency. Yet while Europe should be thinking about how to survive the next war, the Netherlands is searching travelers’ luggage for products from Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. This seems like a symbol of misplaced priorities. Perhaps Europe should spend less energy sanctioning Israel and more on securing its own defense capabilities, economic strength, and demographic future. Because the numbers reveal a development that does not quite fit Europe’s political self-image: Israel has grown economically stronger, technologically more significant, and demographically younger, while Europe’s major states are aging and simultaneously facing a new military threat. Europe still sometimes treats Israel like a small student it needs to educate. But perhaps it should ask itself whether that student has by now acquired capabilities that the teacher itself urgently needs.
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