Dr. George Voskopoulos
Institute for Contemporary Affairs, Founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation
Vol. 16, No. 20
- Relations with Greece and Cyprus provide Israel with allied neighbors and bring Israel closer to Europe in terms of security, trade, and energy.
- Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are the only working democracies in a region of undemocratic, semi-democratic, and failing states. This is a powerful motivating factor for cooperation.
- Israeli-Greek relations have advanced to a degree where the militaries’ air forces and navies are conducting joint operations and joint maneuvers.
- Israel expressed deep gratitude to both countries for sending fire-fighting aircraft when widespread fires hit Israel in November 2016.
- Greece, Israel, and Cyprus have decided to formalize their proposal for the construction of a pipeline from gas fields off the coast of Israel. The three democratic countries can guarantee in the long-term a secure means of delivery in an effort to minimize Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
