Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar announced today that Israel is immediately cutting ties with the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas.
Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, has been Vice President of the European Commission and the EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs for about 30 months and is the EU's foreign minister. So far, she has demonstrated a correct approach toward Israel, balancing disagreement within the EU regarding Israel, with one bloc of countries supporting Jerusalem facing a pro-Palestinian axis that wants to use relations to pressure Israel to change its policy. But now Israeli officials say that Kallas has been working on the issue mainly behind the scenes and insists on repeatedly re-raising critical proposals against Israel at the EU Foreign Ministers' Forum and other forums.
The latest crisis is based on an unverified report on the Euractiv news website, in which Kallas, during a closed conversation with diplomats in Mexico, compared Israel's policy in the territories to apartheid policy in South Africa. According to the report, she made the remarks at a summit in Mexico City in late May, in closed conversations with Mexican diplomats. She recalled an emotional visit she made to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg last year and compared the regime in South Africa at the time to the situation in the territories today.
"Obsession and blatant unfairness"
In today's unexpected announcement, Sa’ar wrote: "Ms. Kaia Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has been acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness against the State of Israel for some time. It was recently widely reported that during her visit to Mexico she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that prevailed in South Africa. I thank the many European elected representatives who expressed reservations and condemned these serious things. However, so far, Kallas has refrained from any denial, response or comment on her behalf regarding these things. Therefore, as the Foreign Minister of the State of Israel, I have no choice but to sever all ties with Mrs. Kallas, until she does not repeat the blood libel she inflicted on the only Jewish state that is also the only democracy in the Middle East."
Kallas has so far appeared to be a neutral party, presenting the common position of the EU, which is deeply divided on the issue of Israel. She put forward a series of proposals to sever trade ties with Israel during the EU foreign ministers' summits and later informed them that they had been rejected. In recent weeks, the EU has stepped up its actions against Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, where it has found consensus among its members. EU countries have unanimously decided to impose sanctions on organizations that work to promote settlements, as well as on several prominent figures in them. The EU is currently considering imposing a ban on trade with settlements.
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Kallas published a response suggesting continuing the dialogue and maintaining diplomatic channels: "Dear Gideon, as you know, the EU and Israel have a lot that binds us. I value our dialogue and engagement, and I am open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively. Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise. The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel. To bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution remains the only viable path. The EU has condemned the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank that make it increasingly difficult to get to that goal. That is the EU position."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 18, 2026.
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