Bitkova Tatiana Georgievna – Ph.D. in Philology, Leading Researcher, INION RAS Dyrina Anna Fedorovna – Researcher, INION RAS
The article examines the relations of two Eastern European countries with Israel and Palestine in connection with the tragic events of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent Israeli retaliatory attacks on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The results of sociological surveys and expert opinions are presented, indicating ambiguous assessments of the causes of this conflict on the part of citizens of Poland and Romania. The specifics of the attitude of the authorities of both countries towards the development of contacts with Israel and Palestine are shown. The article touches upon the topic of relations between the two countries with Israel and Palestine during the socialist period. Romania, which demonstrated on this track a political course independent of Moscow’s policies, continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967, while simultaneously supporting the Palestinian movement. Poland, being in the zone of the most intense Soviet influence, broke off diplomatic relations with Israel and was able to restore them only in 1990. Today, Romania has closer contacts with Israel than Poland, though the problem of anti-Semitism in Romanian society has not yet been resolved. The differences in the two countries’ approaches to relations with Israel and Palestine during the socialist period obviously influence the degree of involvement of Poland and Romania in current events related to the aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Romania demonstrates a high degree of interest in economic and political contacts with Israel, but also some ambivalence regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. As for Poland, the conflict in the Middle East is not a priority for its diplomacy. At the same time, both countries recognise the necessity to create Palestinian state.
Romania, Poland, Israel, Palestine, Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe
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