As The U.S. Shifts On Israel, The West Scrambles To Find Its Moral Voice – But Not The EU
In the space of a week, something changed. Editorial boards that for months parroted state lines — if not outright defended Israel’s campaign in Gaza — are suddenly calling for restraint, accountability, even political consequences.
The Financial Times, usually cautious to a fault, warned that “the West’s silence on Gaza is shameful.” The Times of London asked why we keep “closing our eyes to Gaza’s horror.” The Guardian urged the U.S. to “stop this horror,” casting Trump as the only one left with real leverage. Even Le Monde — historically guarded on foreign policy criticism — has pushed Macron to back an arms embargo.
And it’s not just the press.
In recent days, European leaders themselves have begun to shift their tone. French President Emmanuel Macron — admittedly one of the more reasonable leaders on this — has publicly called the situation in Gaza “shameful” and said suspending cooperation with Israel is “an open question” for the EU. Eight member states — including France, Belgium, Portugal, and Sweden — have endorsed a Dutch proposal to review the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel, citing violations of international humanitarian law.
One possibility is that it takes exactly 19 months for the editorial board of a major newspaper — or a European head of state — to decide a genocide has gone too far. Eighteen months? Understandable. But come month nineteen — well, that’s just a bit much.
A more plausible explanation is that the U.S. is signalling its intention to pivot — and the global media establishment, along with parts of Europe’s political class, have caught on.
In recent weeks, Trump has struck a deal with the Houthis to halt Red Sea attacks. He’s negotiated the release of an American hostage directly with Hamas — with no Israeli input. And he’s reportedly speaking to Iran through backchannels, bypassing Netanyahu altogether.
After months of open frustration with Israel’s leadership, Trump appears to be repositioning the United States — and doing so without Israel at the centre.
View this post on Instagram
Suddenly, outrage is back in fashion.
Even Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s most ardent supporters, has said she doesn’t believe the U.S. should be fighting wars on Israel’s behalf. She claimed most Americans agree, and that people shouldn’t be told to hate entire countries just because it suits Israel’s foreign policy.
Under normal circumstances, this would be a political earthquake. But with Trump, we’ve learned to expect everything and be surprised by nothing. He’s taken a sledgehammer to the global order — but it’s still not entirely clear on whose behalf.
Still, even if this is just a cold, strategic calculation with no real concern for Gaza, it proves something important: how easy it is to do what world leaders have spent 19 months pretending is impossible — to isolate Israel diplomatically, to sideline it in negotiations, to pressure it in whichever way possible.
Now, sensing the shift, media outlets and European leaders are rediscovering their moral reflexes — as though outrage only becomes acceptable once it has been sanctioned by Washington.
But let’s not mistake this for principle.
They didn’t blink at tens of thousands of deaths. They didn’t flinch at mass starvation. They didn’t stop when entire neighbourhoods in Rafah were turned to rubble. The only thing that’s changed is the political weather.
This isn’t conscience. It’s convenience.
Malta, too, has been unmoved. For months, Palestine has been calling on us to make a symbolic gesture — to recognise its statehood, to take a stand, however modest. We’ve refused. Perhaps not out of indifference, but out of fear — fear of offending stronger powers with more ways than one to make a small country pay.
But let’s be clear: it’s already too late. A gesture now won’t undo the silence. It won’t reverse the damage. Still, better late than never. The question is whether Malta will finally step forward — or remain true to form, and only act once everyone else already has.
Meanwhile, as sentiment shifts across national capitals, EU institutions remain conspicuously silent. The Dutch proposal to review the EU’s Association Agreement with Israel — once dismissed as fringe — is now backed by at least eight member states, including France and Belgium. Yet no one holding any meaningful position within the EU has had the courage to say what is plainly obvious.
No serious statement. No political leadership. Just procedural dithering while a humanitarian catastrophe plays out on Europe’s watch.
Because just when you thought Trump couldn’t make Europe look even more ridiculous — he does it again.
READ NEXT: Weed For The Wealthy, Fines For The Rest
