With United States Republican Senator-elect Joni Ernst at his side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared before cameras Dec. 17 and lashed out against the countries of the European Union. Netanyahu's exceptionally acerbic attack was prompted by the series of anti-Israeli resolutions made that day by various European Union institutions. The move that got the most attention was the decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to remove Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations. However, there were other moves, such as the declaration of the European Parliament in Strasbourg recognizing in principle a Palestinian state and the condemnation by signatories of the Geneva Covenant of the Israeli occupation (as it is labeled by the states concerned) of Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem.
Netanyahu, who went into campaign mode following the dissolution of the Knesset earlier this month, seized upon the decision of the European Court of Justice as a godsend. For the first time since an opposing campaign began — under the slogan “Anyone but Bibi," adopted by quite a few political parties — Netanyahu had found a bright spot. It was the first time he could return to his element — his image as a premier standing against the enemies of Israel the world over, endeavoring to prevent a second Holocaust. In the 2009 election campaign, Netanyahu had faced Hamas, while in 2013, he confronted the Iranian threat and Hezbollah (along with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, with whom he ran in a joint list). This time around, 2015, he will take on all those well-known threats alone, as well as the recently emerging menace of the Islamic State (IS), and as of this week, European hypocrisy.
