As France’s National Assembly began debating a non-binding vote on recognizing a state of Palestine Friday, lawmakers joined three other democratic chambers and one European leader who have done the same in less than six weeks.
It’s an extraordinary flurry of legislative activity across Europe, which was stunned by flashes of anti-Semitism at protests this summer over Israel’s actions in Gaza that led to nearly 2,200 lives lost, mostly Palestinian civilians. And while Israel and many Jewish organizations worry that the moves – which are mostly non-binding – are wrong-footed, they represent a growing frustration with Israel.
Sweden was the first this autumn to press the status quo, and has gone the furthest in Europe, officially recognizing Palestine as a state on Oct. 30, after its new center-left prime minister, Stefan Löofven, announced it would be one of his very first policy moves.
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