The current Israeli government is quick to brand anyone criticizing its policies as an “enemy of Israel.” “Friends of Israel” are only those who agree with the government; US President Barack Obama is not one of them.

A blatant example was the government’s reaction to the European Union decision of labeling exported goods produced in Israeli settlements. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself criticized the EU for labeling Israeli goods instead of caring about Israelis being attacked by Arab terrorists. Likud Knesset backbenchers hinted at an analogy between the marking of Israeli products and the marking of Jews during the Holocaust. This is all part of the same mindset: “You are either with us, or anti-Semitic.” It dates back to the era of Golda Meir’s tenure as prime minister when she coined the phrase: “The whole world is against us”; a deeply-rooted ghetto mentality.

Clearly, this worldview is part of the current government’s ideology and propaganda policy. It stems from a sense of paranoia and xenophobia. Government spokespeople actually believe that the EU policy on settlements, for instance, is rooted in historic hostility toward Israel and Jews. This mindset makes any political dialogue with other countries virtually impossible and does not lend to an effective foreign policy. It also serves well the domestic interests of this government. The description of the world in black and white, a world of “good guys and bad guys” and of a perpetual anti-Jewishness, fosters the fortress mentality, which, according to the government’s chief, is the only answer. This mindset is actually an efficient public relations' strategy well-shaped for people traumatized by history.

A senior official at the Quai d’Orsay (French Ministry of Foreign Affairs) dealing with Middle East policy told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the decision of labeling goods produced west of the Green Line was also partly a French initiative. He said, “The Hollande administration is in favor of Israel and has a balanced Middle East policy. For us, simply, the West Bank is not Israel.” He complained that French diplomats are frustrated to hear, time and again, their Israeli counterparts in Paris and Jerusalem complaining of anti-Israel hostility and of anti-Semitism whenever France is in disagreement with Netanyahu’s policies. “We can be against Netanyahu’s policies and pro-Israel at the same time,” he added.