Israel's relations with the European Union stretch back to the early days of the European Community and the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. From that point onward, Israel and Europe have developed an increasingly strong network of political, economic, scientific, and cultural ties. These relations have, however, consisted of a number of conflicting trends. Indeed, even while the EU has become Israel's most important trading partner, the political relationship has been marked by disappointment, frustration, and, at times, even anger.
Israel and the European Union: A Documentary History, by Sharon Pardo and Joel Peters, traces the history of these complex relations by bringing together over two hundred documents in one volume. The documents contained in this book are divided into five time periods: i) 1957-1966, Israel Looks to Europe; ii) 1967-1979, Between War and Peace; iii) 1980-1991, From Venice to Madrid; iv) 1992-2003, From Oslo to Barcelona; and v) 2004-2011, A Renaissance Cut Short?. Each section is preceded by a short essay outlining the major themes of Israeli-European Relations during those years. The authors have not added any commentary to the documents themselves and instead have allowed the documents to speak for themselves.
The aim of this book is to offer a public record for future researchers and students of the dynamics of European-Israeli relations-as well as of Europe's relationship with the Middle East-over the past fifty years. Israel and the European Union is designed to serve as a companion volume to Pardo and Peters' Uneasy Neighbors: Israel and the European Union (Lexington Books, 2010).