In nearly 37 years as a Member of the European Parliament, I experienced many memorable events. Few were as impressive as the visit of the then-Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, to Brussels in December 1993. Speaking to the European Parliament, he delivered a simple but strong message that I will never forget: “Peace cannot be imposed. Peace can be made only when the parties to the conflict decide to put an end to war, violence and terror between them and establish relations of peace.” It was in this spirit that 60 years ago the countries of the European Union established their way not only to coexist, but to collaborate as partners and to unite as friends.

Peace cannot be imposed, but it is the only way to go. For the Middle East region, this means a two-state solution. In this respect, let me be honest with you as friends should always be: The recent developments in Israel’s settlement policy are going in a wrong direction and have rightly been declared illegal under international law by the UN Security Council and the EU. The settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory are an obstacle to an understanding and threaten the viability of a needed two-state solution. Nobody can seriously be willing to risk a new Intifada.

But peace is also being threatened by other parties. Any actions against Israel must be condemned. This applies to challenges of the existence of the Jewish State of Israel. This applies to any kind of violence coming from the Hamas and Hezbollah, supported f. e. by Iran. And this applies to any general boycott against Israel as a whole to isolate the country as such and to combine it with anti-Semitic feelings. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement is a campaign that I believe is not protected by freedom of speech. It has anti-Semitic motivations and is directed against the existence of a secure state of Israel. I am opposed to speech whose sole purpose is to destroy the personalities of human beings, especially minorities in a society and to organize something against them such that they cannot live safely anymore.

For decades, Israel has been an important partner and friend. Me personally, I’ve been to Israel many times, just recently in early January 2017, and I do like your country a lot. Israel, Germany and Europe share a common history - including the Holocaust - and culture. We can certainly benefit from each other in the present and future - may it be in the field of economic or scientific cooperation or regarding counterterrorism. But we must develop closer relations. Furthermore, the EU must be ready to play a more active role in the Middle East peace process.

Elmar Brok is a Member of the European Parliament and former Chair of the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.