Europe, many Israeli and American Jews will tell you, is a lost cause as far as Israel is concerned. With anti-Israel sentiment more virulent than ever, illustrated among other things in the European Union's shameless move to label Jewish-made goods from Judea-Samaria, most non-European supporters of Israel would argue there's simply no hope.
But the participants at last week's First Jerusalem Leaders Policy Summit would beg to differ.
The Summit brought together dozens of conservative politicians and experts from the United States, Europe, Israel and India, for what was more than a simple show of solidarity with Israel at a difficult time. As its key organizer told Arutz Sheva last week, the Summit's purpose was twofold: highlighting and cementing Israel's common cause and shared values with other democracies, while simultaneously charting a common strategy for dealing with mutual threats.
Among the panelists who took part in the two-day event was a sizable contingent of ardent supporters of Israel from an unlikely source: the European Parliament.
Each of the European Parliament Members (MEPs) I spoke to stressed that while the EU may currently be dominated by anti-Israel voices, a strong and outspoken group of primarily conservative MEPs were standing up for the Jewish state - and they represent no small number of European citizens whose support Israel can and should enlist to mount a fightback.
And in a narrative which may surprise some disgruntled right-wing Israelis, all of them expressed admiration for how Israel has consistently stood up for its security, values and way of life in the face of seemingly overwhelming threats, while lamenting the inability of their own countries to do the same.
"We are supportive of Israel as an oasis of relative stability, of democracy, of rule of law, of entrepreneurialism and the free market - all the values that we appreciate," despite being "surrounded by medieval theocracies that not only reject those values but also reject the very existence of State of Israel itself," MEP Roger Helmer of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) told me.
"We believe that Israel deserves our support - we admire what Israel is doing."
The fierce Euroskeptic played down how much change he and others could make within the EU as an organization - in fact, unsurprisingly, he said he saw it as a largely useless, cumbersome entity, chronically incapable of grappling with any important issues. "Europe seems incapable of getting to grips with the big problems... Europe just doesn't deliver. The euro crisis, the immigration crisis... it's created such an extraordinary bureaucratic structure as it tries to coordinate in some way the views of 28 different countries, with utterly archaic mechanisms of decision making."
MEPs like him can and do make every effort to defend Israel against attack and make its case in a largely hostile environment ("We can speak up for common sense in European institutions"), but he was pessimistic about any significant improvements within the EU in the foreseeable future (which is why his party is actively campaigning for Britain to leave the EU).
Given that reality - both the entrenched anti-Israel bias and also the inherent weakness of the EU as an organization - Israel needs to radically alter the way it makes its case in Europe, he insisted. Rather than focusing primarily on top-down diplomacy, engaging with legislators and other senior officials, Israel should direct far more of its resources into making its case in the media and reaching out to the grassroots European public, a significant portion of whom would be receptive to its message if only they had access to it.
European society shares "many of the same threats" faced by Israel, particularly from the rise of radical Islam, he noted.
But "the propaganda from the bad guys tends to be believed, and Israel needs to do a better job in media public relations."
"I wonder if Israel even has a comprehensive communications strategy," he mused. "Support for the Palestinians has become a sort of shibboleth for the Left... we need to get the rebuttals out there very clearly."
"I hear the Palestinian position all the time but very rarely the Israeli position," he said. "We have very nice people from your embassy who will come and chat to us and give us briefings, and I'm very grateful for that, but in terms of hearts and minds of the people out there - as opposed to MEPs in their offices - I don't think you're making the progress that you ought to be making."
'Loss of values' driving anti-Zionism
Mischael Modrikamen, co-founder and leader of the Belgian People's Party, largely agreed with that position, but warned there were deep-seated reasons for anti-Israel sentiment in Europe among "parts of" the general public as well.
Despite there being very few Jews within his party - or in Belgium itself for that matter - Modrikamen boasted that his members overwhelmingly appreciated the "common values and interests" shared by Europe, the US and Israel.
However, he acknowledged that several factors stymied attempts to advocate for Israel in Europe, most notably the long and troubling history of anti-Semitism which European society has yet to shake off.
But the picture is more complicated than simple anti-Semitism alone, he qualified, expressing fears that "an old and tired Europe" was experiencing a more general "loss of values" which is directly fueling anti-Israelism as well.
"I fear a moral collapse of the European population, because they don't know their past, they don't believe in anything except individualism and hedonism - they don't have any vision for the future of Europe," he said.
Many Europeans resent Israel for acting in such stark contrast: a distinctly Jewish country, which is proud of its heritage and determined to protect it.
"That is mixed with and facilitated by still-present anti-Semitic feeling in Europe," he continued. "Hatred of Jews has existed in Europe for at least 1,500 years, and it won't just vanish because of the Shoah or because the Vatican changed their doctrine a few decades ago. It takes time... a lot of the prejudices are still present, if less vivid."
Against that backdrop, the European Left has turned the "Palestinian cause" into "its ultimate emblem" in the fight against the stubborn Jewish state.
Striking a more pessimistic tone than his British counterpart, he felt "the short-term future is fairly dark." Yet he highlighted a "certain awakening from part of the population," who "see Israel as a light willing to fight for its values," and with whom Israel should invest its efforts.
"There is still some common sense left in Europe."
"In some sense they wish their leaders acted more like the Israelis do to affirm your rights to your land, your state, and the capacity to defend yourself against your enemies," he said.
"Israel is prepared to fight for its values, for its country - although perhaps one could argue you don't really have a choice. But when there is war, the same soldiers partying in Tel Aviv take their uniforms and go and fight."
He also noted approvingly that, unlikely a declining European population, Israel is experiencing significant population growth, not only from aliyah but largely from a much higher-than-average birth-rate among developed countries.
He broke down European opinion on Israel into three broad camps: "One third of the population is very Left, they hate Israel and won't be persuaded otherwise.
"Another third are essentially pro-Israel, and another third just don't care - they might utter a few anti-Israel phrases here and there because that's what they hear in the media, but really they aren't engaged either way."
Focusing on the latter two camps should be the aim of Israeli public diplomacy, he advised, not trying in vain to sway the haters within the EU or elsewhere.
Understanding the East-West divide
Another source of hope for Israel in Europe - one which is often overlooked - is the Eastern bloc, where the picture is far more positive. Many American and Israeli observers are ignorant of the immense cultural divides between Eastern and Western Europe, but that divide, by-and-large, extends to the view of Israel as well, with Eastern European states mostly being strongly supportive.
One of the most glaring examples of Eastern European support for Israel is the Czech Republic, where support for the Jewish state stretches back to its earliest days, when underground Jewish fighters and later the nascent Israel Defense Forces purchased much of their weaponry from what was then Czechoslovakia.
Although the former communist regime soon broke off relations with Israel and engaged in typical, Soviet-style anti-Zionist propaganda, the 1989 Velvet Revolution saw a quick revival of strong friendly relations between Israel and the newly democratic country. When Czechoslovakia broke up in 1993, the Czech-Israeli alliance continued to flourish
Free Citizens Party leader Petr Mach said he sees that alliance continuing for the foreseeable future, noting how both Left and Right in his country share the same fundamental sense of support for the embattled Jewish state.
Interestingly, given the many fault lines within Israeli society, Mach said Czechs saw Israelis as "largely united in purpose," something they admire.
The nuances of "which specific party or prime minister we would prefer in Israel" weren't so important to them.
That support was also aided by the profound influence by Jews on Czech culture, via cultural and intellectual figures such as Franz Kafka, Edmund Husserl and others. While Czech-Jewish relations were hardly always rosy, post-World War Two the Czech Republic has, like other Eastern European countries such as Poland, come to embrace its rich Jewish history.
Illustrating just how gaping the chasm is between West and East, Mach related how upon joining the European Parliament he was genuinely astonished to find such levels of hostility towards Israel.
"After I was elected and heard what other MEPs thought I was surprised. What's with this anti-Israeli attitude, or pro-Palestinian bias, which exists in European institutions? It's something I never encountered in my country."
He said he couldn't really give any insights into why the differences exist, but theorized it could be for the same reason as conservative parties in Western Europe largely support Israel.
And he urged supporters of Israel not to give up hope. "I share the same ideas with many people in western countries. Many people in Europe think the same."