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The war in Ukraine signaled major transformations in Europe’s strategic thinking, security needs, and energy market. Overnight, Putin forced European governments to face the imperatives to diversify their energy sources, lessen their dependency on Russian gas, and rethink their international position. Until recently, Israel’s relations with Europe were marked by tension and unease more than anything, which made Israel always keen on finding ways to neutralize Europe’s casual hostility. On their part, European countries often seemed warmer to pro-Palestinian activism than they were toward Israel’s security needs. European-funded NGOs often interfered in Israel’s politics and supported anti-Israel activism among the Palestinians. Does the new reality open new opportunities for Israel and Europe to positively transform their relationships? Will a new European security and energy need for Israel change European policy toward Israel? And where does the EU stand from the Abraham Accords?

About the Speaker: Dr. Emmanuel Navon is a scholar and practitioner of diplomacy. He is the Executive Director of ELNET Israel (an NGO that promotes relations between Israel and Europe) and is an adjunct professor of International Relations at Tel Aviv University (He was awarded the “Best Professor of the Year” prize by the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2022). In addition, he is a Senior Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), and an international affairs analyst for i24news. He has also taught at Reichman University and at the IDF’s National Security College.

Dr. Navon has authored four books and dozens of articles that have appeared in prestigious journals such as the Review of International Studies and the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, and in world-class newspapers such as Le Monde and Newsweek. His book The Star and the Scepter: A Diplomatic History of Israel (Jewish Publication Society/University of Nebraska Press, 2020) is an academic reference, which has been translated so far to Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, French, and Italian.