Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, seems to have a curious sense of timing when it comes to outrage. While she’s quick to condemn Iran’s missile attacks on Israel «in the strongest possible terms,» her lips stay sealed when it comes to Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon. Talk about selective outrage! It’s as if she’s got two different playlists for condemnation: one for Iran, and another one… well, actually, none at all for Israel.
Nearly a year ago, after the October 7th attacks by Hamas, von der Leyen stirred the pot in the EU by cozying up to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, even as Israel launched a mass-scale civilian smackdown in Gaza. The rest of the EU, led by their foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, wasn’t too thrilled and gave her a slap on the wrist. They reminded her to play nice and follow the script—Europe’s foreign policy should be more than just Israel’s cheerleading squad, right?
Now, freshly re-elected and feeling untouchable, von der Leyen has gone rogue again, voicing her disapproval of Iran’s attacks but conveniently ignoring Israel’s “little” invasion of Lebanon. It’s like someone handed her a copy of the Geneva Conventions and she threw it straight into the shredder, selectively deaf to anything Israel does.
“I strongly condemn yesterday’s ballistic missile attack by Iran against Israel. These actions threaten regional stability and escalate an already volatile situation. I urge all parties to protect innocent civilian lives,” she said in her official statement, which—surprise!—also made its way to social media. Meanwhile, as Israel rampaged through southern Lebanon, von der Leyen was busy tweeting about more pressing matters, like NATO welcoming Mark Rutte or congratulating Japan’s new prime minister. Who’s got time for war crimes, right?
Of course, she threw in the standard EU line: a call for a ceasefire on the Lebanon-Israel border and in Gaza, along with the release of hostages held since last year. But, just like her previous statements, there wasn’t a peep about international humanitarian law or the messy, bloody details of the ground assault Israel launched in Lebanon. Von der Leyen’s moral compass seems to have a “blind spot” for certain violations.
Meanwhile, Borrell, ever the diplomat, has been running around trying to organize emergency meetings with EU foreign ministers. While most of them were on board with issuing a strong statement, the Czech Republic played spoiler, putting a stop to any official joint condemnation of Israel’s land invasion. Borrell, doing his best to avoid a diplomatic train wreck, issued his own statement, warning that the Israeli offensive would “dramatically worsen the situation.” No kidding.
The response to Iran’s missile attack has been much louder and more unified, with Borrell issuing a second urgent call for all sides to chill out before things spiral completely out of control. Washington is currently trying to decide whether or not to drop the hammer on Tehran, but von der Leyen’s call for calm? Nowhere to be found. Guess she’s saving her voice for something more pressing—like congratulating world leaders on Twitter.