EU embraces pro-Israel lobbyists amid Gaza atrocities

File Source: Amnesty International

The European Union has extended what officials called “smooth access” to individuals and groups defending Israel’s war on Gaza, even as mounting evidence points to war crimes and humanitarian catastrophe.

Daniel Schwammenthal, newly appointed editor-in-chief of The Jewish Chronicle, has drawn scrutiny for rewriting history and promoting disinformation. Upon taking the role in February, Schwammenthal declared the publication “has always been, and always will be, a Zionist newspaper.” The claim contradicts historical fact — the newspaper, founded in 1841, once criticized Zionism as “ill-considered, retrogressive, impracticable, even dangerous,” years before Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State laid the ideological foundation for political Zionism.

Schwammenthal’s record extends beyond historical revisionism. In October 2023, he tweeted that “Hamas has its headquarters” in or under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital — a claim that lacked evidence and was widely condemned as a pretext for Israeli attacks on medical infrastructure. At the time, he led the Brussels office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby.

Despite the EU’s professed stance against disinformation, top officials maintained cordial relations with Schwammenthal. Some even attended his farewell party in February, where the invitation promised “great Israeli food, drinks and hopefully not too many speeches.” Among the guests was Hélène Le Gal, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa in the EU’s diplomatic service and former French ambassador to Israel and Morocco.

Le Gal’s ties to the AJC run deep. Late last year, the organization facilitated a visit to Brussels by retired U.S. General Chuck Wald, who played a key role in the U.S. war on Afghanistan and remains active in lobbying circles. Wald was among the contributors to a May 2024 report by the Jewish Institute for the National Security of America (JINSA), which praised Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, claiming it showed “operational and tactical excellence” and conformed to international law — even as Israel ramped up its ground assault on Rafah, displacing civilians and worsening hunger and malnutrition.

While EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell publicly warned that the Rafah invasion would cause “a lot of civilian casualties,” internal communications show that Le Gal’s staff told the AJC she would be “delighted” to meet Wald. According to documents obtained via a freedom of information request, Wald and a colleague were granted “smooth access” to the EU’s diplomatic headquarters — a privilege that exempted them from security checks required of most visitors.

The phrase “smooth access” encapsulates the EU’s willingness to embrace apologists for Israel’s military campaign, even as the humanitarian toll in Gaza deepens.