Federica Mogherini, the EU Foreign Policy Chief, cut short a news conference in Jordan and began to weep as she spoke of the Brussels bombings Tuesday. Click the image below to view video from the event.
Mogherini was holding a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Amman.
“It is… a very sad day for Europe as Europe and its capital is suffering the same pain that this region has known and knows every single day," said the EU commission’s vice-president.
She appeared to be trying to contain her emotions, but these eventually got the best of her. She stepped toward Judeh, who embraced her, and the two left the room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together.
Terrorists shouting in Arabic conducted the attacks on the Belgian capital, murdering dozens and injuring many more at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport and Maalbeek Metro station.
If Mogherini’s statements reflect a true newfound identification with the victims of Islamism in the Middle East, it remains to be seen whether this will be translated into greater solidarity with Israel. When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Mogherini in January, he suggested that European countries treat the Jewish state the way the moderate Arab countries do, but did not elaborate.
Netanyahu told Mogherini that the European Union has “double standards” when it comes to Israel. His comment came several days after the EU reaffirmed a decision to differentiate between products made within sovereign Israel and those manufactured in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria.
In response, Mogherini maintained the European Union was not boycotting Israel.