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“We have never, in all the years of the state, despite grave crises, reached a level of diplomatic isolation and negative global perception like we see today.”
With these stark words, Ambassador (ret.) Colette Avital, a member of Mitvim’s Executive Board, opened her assessment of Israel’s international standing at the Ambassadors’ Panel held at Mitvim’s 8th Annual Regional Foreign Policy Conference in November 2025 at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. The panel, organized in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel, brought together five senior former ambassadors for an in-depth discussion on Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation, its eroding legitimacy, and the potential path toward changing course.
Participants included Ambassadors Rodica Radian-Gordon, Liora Herzl, Jeremy Issacharoff, and Danny Carmon.
Avital reminded the audience that, for decades, Israel had been a symbol and an inspiration, enjoying extraordinary international standing. Its leaders, foremost among them Yitzhak Rabin, were greeted at the UN and in world capitals by long lines of dignitaries eager to meet them. Today, she warned, the picture is reversed: scenes from Gaza, inflammatory statements by ministers about expulsion and transfer, annexationist policies, and the erosion of Israeli democracy have converged into a reality in which “Zionism is turning into a dirty word, and our legitimacy as a state is wearing away.”
From here, the panel turned to examine Israel’s standing across four major arenas: Europe, the United States, the United Nations, and the regional landscape.
Europe: A Quiet Boycott and Eroding Credibility
Ambassador Rodica Radian-Gordon, who recently served as Israel’s ambassador to Spain, began with a key clarification: Europe is not monolithic. Yet it shares a deep foundation of values – democracy, human rights, and international law – that formed the basis for Israel’s once-strong relationship with the continent.
In the early 1990s, Israel was widely perceived as “a peace-seeking state,” mainly because of the Oslo process. But in the past two years, she argued, a profound gap has opened between how Israel sees itself and how it is perceived across Europe.
“The destruction in Gaza, statements about expulsion and annexation, and the positioning of Israeli politicians against international law create a sense that Israel is distancing itself from Europe’s core values.”
Compounding this is another trend: the blurring of lines between criticism of Israeli policies and antisemitism.
When Israel labels every criticism as antisemitism, she explained, it loses credibility in the essential fight against actual antisemitism.
The result is not loud or dramatic – but a “quiet boycott”:
Fewer invitations, fewer partnerships, less willingness to be publicly associated with Israel. In academic, cultural, and economic spaces, Israel is increasingly seen as toxic.
To change direction, Radian-Gordon set a clear priority: restoring the rule of law and strengthening Israeli democracy as the foundation for rebuilding trust. She called for deeper engagement with liberal democratic leaders, full inclusion of Arab citizens of Israel in international dialogue, and restoring Israel’s status as an academic and moral magnet for young Jews.
United States: Declining Support- Especially Among Youth and Young Jews
Ambassador Liora Herzl, former Ambassador to Norway and head of the Americas Division at the MFA, focused on the American arena.
She began with the recent election of Zohran Mamdani, a young, outspokenly critical politician, as Mayor of New York City. But she stressed that Mamdani is a symptom, not the cause.
The alarming reality, she explained, is a steady erosion of support for Israel among the American public—especially among young people and young Jews. One striking figure: only about one-third of American Jews aged 18–34 report an emotional attachment to Israel.
Israel, once a bipartisan consensus issue, is increasingly identified with only one political camp. This is dangerous, Herzl warned, because U.S. politics is dynamic—administrations flip, Congress shifts—and a country that “bets” on one side risks deep isolation when the pendulum swings.
Herzl linked Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians, its internal political discourse, and the erosion of democratic institutions to the distancing of young Americans. On campuses, online, and in liberal value-based conversations, Israel is increasingly perceived as an obstacle to peace and a violator of human rights.
To reverse the trend, she called for a return to long-standing principles of Israeli diplomacy: sustained outreach to both parties, a meaningful discussion about peace – not just “conflict management” – and re-centering a moral, diplomatic vocabulary in dialogue with Washington and the Jewish community.
United Nations: A Parallel Universe Where the Palestinian Narrative Has Already Won
Ambassador Danny Carmon, former head of Israel’s mission to the UN institutions, described the UN as a unique arena combining historical grievances, Global South politics, and a long-term, strategic Palestinian effort.
For many developing nations, he explained, the UN is where they “correct colonial injustices,” and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has become a central stage for this process. Israel’s historical posture as “the offended child,” he argued, only deepened its isolation.
For decades, Palestinians have invested in a disciplined, methodical UN strategy: entrenching their narrative in General Assembly resolutions, Security Council debates, Human Rights Council mechanisms, and symbolic initiatives such as the annual November 29 “Day of Solidarity.”
The outcome, Carmon warned, is a parallel reality in which – even if the resolutions are non-binding – they create a deep narrative and legal layer that is difficult to undo.
Yet, he emphasized, even within a hostile arena, progress is possible with a change in approach. He cited Israel’s strategy during the Goldstone Report episode – combining principled positions with methodical legal and diplomatic work – which succeeded in limiting the report’s damage.
His takeaway: Israel cannot ignore the UN and cannot continue engaging from a purely defensive crouch. A new strategic approach is needed, including an active Israeli presence within UN institutions.
Regional Context: Military Gains Without Diplomatic Strategy
Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff, former Ambassador to Germany and head of the MFA Strategic Division, linked the international deterioration to the regional landscape.
He noted that Israel has achieved genuine strategic and military successes in recent years against Hamas, Hezbollah, and other actors. But the government failed to convert these achievements into diplomatic gains.
Issacharoff identified the December 2022 judicial overhaul as a turning point that dealt a severe blow to Israel’s image as a stable democracy. This damage reverberated outward: weakening deterrence, undermining regional partnerships, and enabling adversaries to portray Israel as drifting away from democratic values.
At the core, he stressed, lies the Palestinian question. As long as Israel does not present a credible path toward a political agreement and a Palestinian state, it cannot unlock the full potential of regional ties with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, and other players. Hamas, he reminded, sought not only to harm Israel militarily but also to destroy any horizon for Israeli–Palestinian reconciliation.
If, after years of bloodshed and enormous loss of life, no political horizon emerges, Issacharoff warned, Hamas would win strategically—not on the battlefield but in the diplomatic and psychological arena.
He called for an explicit Israeli declaration of a path toward a Palestinian state – not immediate implementation, but a direction. Around this, he argued, Israel can build a new regional architecture combining security, economics, and cooperation between the two states for the two peoples.
International Repair Begins with Internal Repair
In closing, Colette Avital returned to her central message: Israel is in the midst of a deep legitimacy crisis that is affecting foreign relations, national security, the economy, and relations with world Jewry. International isolation is not fate – it is the result of political and domestic choices.
The panel’s shared conclusion was unequivocal:
To break out of isolation, Israel must once again become a strong democracy committed to the rule of law and international norms, and redefine its political vision—toward the Palestinians, toward the region, and toward the global community.
“The world can change,” Avital concluded,
“But it will only change in our favor if we change first.”
Photo & video: Constantin Grossman
