When, a month and a half ago, the first Iranian missiles fell on Israeli cities, most European leaders issued only perfunctory statements. The Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, instead boarded a plane, flew to Tel Aviv, met with Isaac Herzog and Gideon Sa’ar and offered what no one else in Europe had the courage to provide: full support for Israel. Tsahkna then signed new contracts for Israeli air defence systems and military equipment, turning solidarity into concrete action.
Estonia, a democracy of 1.3 million inhabitants threatened by Russia - one of those “small nations that know they can disappear" of which French-Czech novelist Milan Kundera spoke - has openly sided with Jerusalem, together with the other Baltic states, which are among Israel’s closest friends in Europe. Estonian President Alar Karis visited the kibbutzim devastated by Hamas on 7 October, witnessing firsthand the consequences of the massacre in a way that few other Western leaders have done (the leaders of Italy, France, and Britain have yet to set foot in Israel).
Estonian forces, like the Latvian ones, are equipped with Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles and Blue Spear systems capable of turning the Baltic Sea into a killing zone.
Elbit, Israel’s leading defence company, has meanwhile become the highest-valued Israeli company on Wall Street, with a market capitalization of $22.5 billion. Two major contracts have been signed by Elbit in recent months. The first, worth $2.3 billion, is with the United Arab Emirates for the supply of defence systems. The second, for $3.5 billion, is with Germany for the acquisition of the Israeli Arrow 3 anti-missile system, which was used in the war with Tehran.
Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni just announced the suspension of the automatic defence agreement with Jerusalem. Shame on my country.
The countries that feel genuinely threatened - such as Germany because of the war in Ukraine, and the UAE because of Iran - are instead reinforcing and “bullet-proofing" those agreements. It is no coincidence that the small nations of Eastern Europe are more pro-Israel than the large, decadent nations of the West.
A few days ago, Greece, the country most exposed on the southern flank in the event of Iranian attacks (which have already hit Cyprus), signed a $750 million contract with Elbit for anti-missile systems. Romania has also received Elbit’s unmanned aerial systems.
Even Emmanuel Macron’s plane is equipped with the system developed by the Israeli company Elbit. It is called “DIRCM" (Directional Infrared Counter Measures), one of the most advanced infrared laser countermeasures in the world. Meanwhile, more than one country that talks about “de-escalation" while stockpiling Israeli weapons hopes that Jerusalem, as it has so far, will continue to do the “dirty work" in Iran.
Upon receiving the prestigious Jerusalem Prize, Milan Kundera said: “Israel appears to me as the true heart of Europe, a strange heart placed outside the body". Kundera said that Europe "had disappointed the Jews" and that Israel, the "reconquered homeland," was more Europe than Europe itself, the "true heart" of the continent, representing everything good and noble in the European dream. Today most of the European cultural and political class sees in Israel a withered heart or a heart transplant in the Middle East - from the river to the sea.
But there are small countries that understand Israel’s existential threats in a way that Western European nations - including Italy -- which have enjoyed decades of post-war peace and prosperity - seem unable to grasp. Italian politician Ugo La Malfa was right: the West defends itself at the walls of Jerusalem. Many, however, cling to the illusion that it can be defended with UN resolutions from Guterres.
History, merciless as always, will eventually prove them wrong.
Giulio Meotti is an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, and writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author, in English, of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter and of "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books, in addition to books in Italian. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Gatestone, Frontpage and Commentary.