EUROPE - Only Israel Offers Real Defense

European governments that condemn Israel and announce sanctions still line up for its air defense systems, as fears of Russian drones and other threats override political boycotts.

At a joint appearance in Jerusalem, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned against any steps in the West Bank that might amount to annexation, insisting there should be “no formal, political or structural measures” in that direction and reiterating that “recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end—not the beginning” of peace negotiations.

Germany remains Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States and has resumed approving weapons exports after a partial freeze linked to Israeli operations in Gaza. At the same time, Berlin is now a major customer of Israeli systems.

Germany is far from alone in trying to balance political pressure with strategic dependence on Israel. A string of European countries, from Spain and the United Kingdom to France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as well as Canada, announced an arms embargo on Israel during the war.

“Israel excels at air defense systems, so countries can boycott Israel in many arenas, but when it comes to their defense, they will purchase exactly what they need and want from Israel,” said Dr. Yehoshua Kalisky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies.

-themedialine.org, 7 December 2025

Commentary: All of a sudden, the world—particularly the West—realizes that they need Israel’s technology and experience. While the IDF has demonstrated an excellent result against incoming missiles of many kinds, Israel already has other defensive weapons in its arsenal, such as electronic and laser devices. Viewing the global world from a podium, we conclusively observe the general, partial, and progressive fulfillment of Joel 3:9-10: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.”

Here we must emphasize that this is not the end, for the prophet Micah declares: “And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Micah 4:3).