Israel Is Not as Isolated as It Seems

Despite initially receiving a wave of global support after the October 7th attacks, Israel soon faced fierce international backlash over its ensuing military campaign in Gaza. Economic, cultural, academic, and sports boycotts against Jerusalem have intensified, and global opinion towards the country has soured considerably. The European Union (EU) – Israel’s largest trading partner – has threatened to impose trade restrictions, and even close friends of the Jewish state, like Germany, halted arms exports. Several Western nations dealt yet another diplomatic blow when they recognized a Palestinian state at this year’s United Nations General Assembly. Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israel’s growing isolation when he called for the country to become a more self-reliant “super-Sparta” (though he later walked back these comments).

But despite these diplomatic setbacks, Israel is far from a “pariah status” as many commentators claim. Not only has global pressure failed to dent Israel’s economic growth and military strength thus far, but in several key respects, the country has considerably strengthened its position on the world stage over the past two years. Moreover, with the first stage of President Trump’s Gaza peace plan nearing completion and phase II negotiations underway, Jerusalem has an opportunity to continue mending its overseas relations.

Even in the face of ongoing security challenges, the Israeli economy has proven remarkably resilient, and the 2025 and 2026 OECD projections for the nation are some of the highest in the developed world. Reflecting foreign investors’ confidence, the country’s stock market outperformed its Middle East counterparts this year, hitting a record high following the strikes on Iran earlier this summer and surging again after the Gaza peace plan was unveiled. Furthermore, its technology ecosystem and startup scene remain vibrant and globally competitive. In March of this year, Google announced that it would be buying the Israeli cloud security company Wiz for $32 billion – the tech giant’s biggest acquisition to date. Similarly, NVIDIA is planning two major expansions in Israel to establish regional hubs for advanced computing.

Jerusalem’s economic ties with key partners also have yet to suffer notable blows. Even while the war in Gaza was raging, the EU was too divided to take collective action against Israel. The bloc recently stated that possible sanctions remain on the table even with the US-brokered ceasefire in effect, but these measures now seem even more unlikely to pass. And though the UK suspended talks for a new free trade agreement earlier this year, it affirmed that it doesn’t plan on pulling back from its existing business, research, and technological relationships with Israel anytime soon. In fact, trade between the two nations actually increased between June 2024 and June 2025.

Israel’s enduring influence on the world stage is especially evident in its skyrocketing arms sales. Driven by its military successes and European concerns about Russian aggression, the country’s defense exports reached an all-time high in 2024, with Europe making up more than half of these purchases, and many countries continued expanding their defense and cyber collaboration with the Jewish state throughout 2025. For instance, earlier this month, Israel delivered the Arrow 3 missile defense system to Germany, completing the largest defense export deal in its history.

True, several nations have cut back on their defense ties with Israel, but this has had little impact on the country’s overall arms exports or military capabilities. Some European states even found other channels to continue purchasing Israeli weapons even after declaring arms embargoes. Moreover, if the ceasefire in Gaza holds, other countries could soon follow Germany’s lead in lifting or easing restrictions – and even if they don’t, the US would be required by law to help offset the impact of international arms embargos against Jerusalem if the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passes.

This is not to downplay the significant challenges Israel continues to face in the international diplomatic arena and the court of public opinion. However, the reality is far more complex than one of unanimous hostility and deep estrangement. Negative views have been far more pronounced on the left and among younger voters, and Central and Eastern Europeans tend to be more supportive of Israel compared to their western counterparts. Notably, respondents in some major Global South nations like India, Kenya, and Nigeria held more positive views of Israel than did those in the West, and Jerusalem has recently strengthened ties with many countries in the developing world. India, the largest purchaser of Israeli weapons, recently signed more major defense and investment deals with Jerusalem, and several African nations formed pro-Israel parliamentary groups earlier this year to deepen their strategic partnership with the Jewish state. Israel has also had recent successes in Latin America, with President Javier Milei of Argentina launching the Isaac Accords and pledging to move the Argentinian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Costa Rica signing a free trade agreement, and several other wins in the region.

In the US, support for Israel among Democrats and younger voters rapidly declined since October 7th, but overall has remained steadier than is often suggested. Many, if not most, Americans backed Jerusalem’s efforts to destroy Hamas and free the hostages throughout the war, and over three quarters of US voters now think that a solution to the conflict should require Hamas to completely disarm and disband. Meanwhile, most Republicans remain strongly supportive of the Jewish state (internal divisions notwithstanding), and an overwhelming majority backed Trump’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites (which also largely discredited claims from earlier this year about a major “rift” between Trump and Netanyahu). With the steadfast support of its most powerful ally, Israel appears to be diplomatically shielded from any true isolation, at least during Trump’s term. Furthermore, as noted by Amit Segal, during Israel’s previous conflicts, public opinion towards the country temporarily declined but eventually rebounded. It’s also likely that much of the hostility towards Israel today, particularly from the left, is directed at Netanyahu’s far-right coalition. The subsiding of large-scale combat operations in Gaza and a potential change of government in Jerusalem could thus help restore the Jewish state’s image abroad.

Israel’s relations with the Arab world have also defied expectations. Not only did its existing peace agreements survive the Gaza war, but trade with many of its Arab neighbors actually grew in 2024 and 2025. While publicly opposing Israel’s operations against Iran and its regional proxies, Arab states expanded security and intelligence cooperation with Jerusalem over the past two years, and this collaboration is expected to increase once the International Stabilization Force (ISF) envisioned in Trump’s plan deploys to the Strip. Israel’s attacks on Iran this June also won it back some favor with its European partners, who recently triggered “snapback” sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. 

Though Saudi-Israeli normalization doesn’t seem to be imminent, the kingdom has signaled its readiness to move to direct talks, and Kazakhstan’s entry to the Abraham Accords can also encourage other countries to eventually join the fold. Moreover, Riyadh and other Gulf states are backing US and Israeli efforts to push the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, and Israeli-Syrian security negotiations have progressed notably despite ongoing tensions between the two countries. And the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and I2U2 projects are still underway, albeit delayed.

Most importantly, the widespread international support for Trump’s 20-point peace plan has legitimized Israel’s campaign to secure the release of all the hostages and destroy Hamas as a military and governing force. Disagreements over the plan’s implementation notwithstanding, there is a broad consensus among many Arab and Western capitals (even ones that recognized a Palestinian state) that the terrorist organization must be sidelined to the greatest degree possible in Gaza’s “day after” (though some of Hamas’s foreign patrons will no doubt seek to extend the group a lifeline). The United Nation Security Council’s approval of Trump’s proposed peace plan further legitimizes efforts to demilitarize the enclave.

This is not to say that Israel can afford to be complacent about the global diplomatic scene. If the already fragile ceasefire unravels completely, Jerusalem can soon find itself back in the international spotlight. Friction with Arab partners over postwar arrangements in Gaza – such as the role of the Palestinian Authority and a potential pathway to Palestinian statehood – or controversial measures in the West Bank can continue derailing normalization efforts and other regional initiatives. Most notably, a future Democratic administration in Washington seems unlikely to back Jerusalem to the same extent that Team Trump has.

But for now, Israel seems to be safe from becoming truly internationally isolated.