Czech Foreign Policy towards Israel, Gaza and Palestine: An Introduction

Abstract

This text introduces the special forum focusing on the Czech foreign policy towards Israel and Palestine in the wake of the Hamas’ October 7 attack and the ensuing Israeli war in Gaza. It discusses the Czech political elites’ statements and decision-making regarding the Middle East that have been largely defined by starkly pro-Israeli positions. The introduction goes on to note how Prague’s decisions and steps on the EU and international level have become increasingly remarkable due to their uncritical support for the Israeli conduct in spite of the global criticism aimed at its breaches of international and humanitarian law. The introduction further brief ly outlines individual contributions, arguing that the forum overall speaks to IR-relevant issues pertaining to the notion of a special relationship, the role of the domestic context for foreign policy, and the EU’s international position vis-.-vis the recent major conf lict in its neighborhood.

Keywords

Czech foreign policy, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, European Union, international law

Author Biography

Jakub Záhora

Jakub Záhora holds Masters degree in Middle Eastern Studies from SOAS, University of London, and Masters degree in Security Studies and doctorate in International Relations from Charles University. He joined UNYP’s School of International Relations in fall 2023 as a research lead. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and a lecturer at Department of International Relations at Charles University. He also held visiting fellowships at Hebrew University, Copenhagen University and New York University. Z.hora has taught courses on Middle East politics, theories of International Relations and security studies, and methodology in political science, and his research interests cover critical approaches to international politics, political ethnography, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jan Daniel

Jan Daniel is a lecturer at the School of International Relations and Media Studies of the University of New York in Prague. Jan also works as a Senior Researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague where he is the Head of the Centre for the Study of Global Regions and one of the editors of the Czech Journal of International Relations. His academic research is guided by the attention to how ideas of global peace and security play out in the local practice and how they intersect with local politics. He has been involved in academic research projects on UN peacekeeping, preventing violent extremism in Europe and the Middle East as well as understanding the policies aimed at tackling disinformation and hybrid warfare in Europe and the Czech Republic.