ELNET Impacts

ELNET's first delegation of young Muslim leaders from Europe to Israel.

Since 2018, Eight European countries, including the UK and Germany, introduced a full ban on Hezbollah activities, sending a clear message against violence and hatred. ELNET intensively supported this legislative effort by educating key decision-makers on Iran and Hezbollah. All parliamentary delegations visiting Israel with ELNET participated in strategic briefings on Hezbollah, and many visited Hezbollah's terror tunnels in Israel's North. The IDF thanked ELNET for its vital contribution in educating policymakers about the Hezbollah threat, stressing that this important step happened, “as a result of a collaboration with organizations such as ELNET.”

The European Parliament passed landmark legislation in May 2020 calling on the European Commission to prevent EU funding to organizations or individuals engaged in terrorism and guarantee that no funds are used to finance textbooks inciting to violence. ELNET has consistently called on European policymakers to improve the transparency and monitoring of EU funding for the Palestinian Authority and encouraged Members of the European Parliament to enhance legislation in order to address these pressing issues. Senior European Parliament Members who visited Israel with ELNET months earlier were briefed extensively on the dangers of terror financing and incitement.

More than 100 senior lawmakers from 25 European countries joined with Israeli counterparts to sign a joint letter supported by ELNET, calling on the EU High Representative Josep Borrell to reconvene the EU-Israel Association Council, the highest forum for bilateral dialogue. The Council has not met since 2012. ELNET has consistently called for a renewal of this forum. The initiative triggered Borrell’s official response and helped prepare the ground for the Israeli Foreign Minister meetings with his European counterparts. The EU vowed to increase its outreach efforts and schedule the Association Council meeting as soon as possible.

The Abraham Accords breakthrough in Israeli-Arab relations opens new opportunities that require a multilateral dialogue involving Europeans, Middle Easterners, and Americans regarding the potential impact of this critical development. ELNET-affiliated Forum of Strategic Dialogue hosted the first-ever Europe-Middle East Forum with senior policymakers and experts from four European and six Middle East countries, as well as from the EU, the UN, and the U.S. The Forum expands the existing bilateral Israeli-European dialogues in order to take stock of the recent breakthrough to Israeli-Arab normalization, generate a discussion of its potential repercussions, and encourage Europe to actively align itself with the new realities in the Middle East.

ELNET promotes efforts to encourage Arab engagement with Israel, bringing such initiatives to the attention of leading European policymakers and opinion leaders. In February 2020, Arab leaders from across the Arab world appeared before the French parliament to advocate for normalization, seeking the support of key French officials, politicians, and media. Months later, ELNET hailed an extraordinary statement by 85 senior French officials and politicians, including three former prime ministers, encouraging Arab leaders to speak out in favour of increased contacts with Israelis.

Read the Times of Israel report

The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a new wave of antisemitic hate speech and conspiracy theories, particularly online. ELNET's educational campaigns among European decision-makers drove further action to address antisemitism on the EU and state levels. 18 EU member states already adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which has been recognized as an important tool to combat all forms of anti-Jewish prejudice and racism, including applying double standards to the only Jewish state. In December, the EU Council passed a strong declaration against antisemitism and called on the remaining European countries to follow suit and adopt the IHRA definition.

ELNET was the first and only organization able to resume its on-the-ground activities, due to its unique relations with Israeli and European authorities. While official delegations from Europe were precluded from visiting Israel due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, in September, ELNET hosted 14 European ambassadors and senior diplomats, on a strategic tour of Israel’s border with Gaza. European diplomats stationed in Israel increasingly serve as the only “eyes on the ground,” reporting directly to their capitals. The program provided the diplomats with an opportunity to experience first-hand the complexities facing Israel on the ground.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, ELNET has been pursuing creative approaches to continue our educational activities, immediately launching the Online Policy Exchange program, which included dozens of online video conferences, expert briefings, exchanges, interviews, as well as eight high-level strategic dialogues. Dynamically responding to the changing reality, the online program quickly proved to be a great success among our European network. 2,817 high-level participants, including 518 policymakers and officials from 36 countries in Europe and beyond, took part in 42 online policy events organized between March and December 2020. The network is growing stronger and bigger every day, reaching beyond physical borders to more countries where ELNET has no physical presence, including Scandinavian states, Italy and Spain.

To build bridges between Israeli innovation and Europe's largest economy, ELNET-Germany launched a special program that aims to connect Israeli startups with German medium-sized companies (Mittelstand), promoting Israeli innovation as a solution for growing digitalization needs in the German market. The substantial funding by the German government, on the basis of an official decision by the Bundestag, is a special recognition of ELNET's experience and successes in enhancing German-Israeli ties. This is yet another project in partnership with Start-Up Nation Central, with which ELNET held a series of online events addressing more than 500 senior participants, including top policymakers and international journalists.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the State of Israel, the European Leadership Network (ELNET) conducted a comprehensive survey of Members of Parliament (MPs) across Europe to better understand their perspectives on Europe - Israel relations, Middle East policy, and Jewish life in Europe. The survey gathered responses from 381 parliamentarians representing 17 European countries, providing a unique snapshot of contemporary political attitudes on these important issues.

First launched in 2022 across seven countries - Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Spain, and the United Kingdom - the survey has since become an annual initiative. By offering evidence-based insights into the views of European policymakers, it contributes to a deeper understanding of evolving trends, supports informed dialogue, and helps identify opportunities to further strengthen cooperation and mutual understanding between Europe and Israel.

In 2023, ELNET organized the inaugural Romania-Israel Strategic Dialogue, marking an important step in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Opened by the Israeli Ambassador to Romania, the meeting brought together an ELNET delegation, senior officials from the Romanian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, and Members of the Romanian Parliament, including Pavel Popescu, who had previously participated in an ELNET delegation to Israel as Chair of the Defence, Public Order and National Security Committee. The forum provided a valuable platform for constructive dialogue and the exchange of expertise, with discussions focusing on expanding cooperation in areas of shared strategic interest, including defence, innovation, technology, and tourism. The meeting reflected the strong commitment of both sides to fostering long-term partnerships and advancing practical collaboration for the mutual benefit of Romania and Israel.

Actions Matter is an ELNET initiative that brings together decision-makers from politics, academia, and civil society to discuss existing efforts to combat antisemitism, deepen interdisciplinary dialogue, and develop strategic policy recommendations.

Each year, ELNET organizes Actions Matter – The Summit, a workshop-based conference dedicated to this issue.

In 2024, the summit was held for the first time in Austria in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). The previous edition took place in Berlin in 2023 under the patronage of former German President Christian Wulff.

In addition, ELNET organizes a series of thematic roundtables, including the 2024/25 Roundtable on Antisemitism in Sport.

elnet-deutschland.de/actions-matter