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On March 1, an Iranian rocket smashed into the synagogue at Beit Shemesh, a town in Israel located in the Jerusalem District, approximately 15 miles west of Jerusalem in the Judean foothills. The synagogue was completely destroyed, and nine Israelis were killed, seven of them as they were running to the bomb shelter. On March 18, the ambassadors of 15 European countries paid a visit to Beit Shemesh to see for themselves what Israelis, who must constantly run many times a day into their bomb shelters when the sirens sound, endure when the bombs land, and how resilient the people of Israel are, how determined to carry on no matter what. Given how many European countries have been distancing themselves from Israel ever since Israel began its counterattack on Hamas on October 7, 2023, with some even recognizing a state of “Palestine,” this visit, prompted by both sympathy and curiosity, was a morale booster for Israelis, and not just for those who live in Beit Shemesh.
More on the visit can be found here: “‘We’re here’: European ambassadors stand in solidarity after deadly Beit Shemesh strike,” by Mathilda Heller, Jerusalem Post, March 18, 2026:
“We are here. We stand in solidarity with the people,” Marriët Schuurman, Dutch ambassador to Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday at the site of the fatal missile impact in Beit Shemesh.
Schuurman was part of a delegation of 15 European ambassadors visiting the location where, on March 1, a 500 kg. Iranian warhead hit a synagogue, killing nine people, seven of whom were running to the bomb shelter.
The delegation included ambassadors from Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Ireland, and the Czech Republic, as well as the ambassador and head of the European Union Delegation to Israel.
“It’s very impressive to see it and to meet the people from the community who survived and the community leaders who helped them to hear their stories,” Schuurman told the Post. “You can read it in the news, and I think, when that hit came it was a big shock to everybody, but it’s always different to see in real life and also see how many people got saved by being in the miklat (shelter).”
“It’s all very well to be in Brussels watching wars going on, but when you’re hearing sirens and running to your shelter, it’s totally different,” Michael Mann, the EU’s ambassador, told the Post….
During the last two-and-a-half years, the people of Israel have been subjected to every sort of calumny about the IDF supposedly committing “war crimes” and “genocide,” and except for about a week or two following the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, the Israelis have been shown little sympathy or understanding in Europe for what Israelis suffered and why the IDF ‘s response was fully justified. It has been especially shocking and demoralizing for Israelis to see how many European states have distanced themselves from their country, and how many Europeans have even denounced the Jewish state for trying to defend itself against those — Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran — who if they could, would destroy both the state and its people in their tiny homeland. This visit to Beit Shemesh by the fifteen European ambassadors meant a great deal to Israelis, and not just to the inhabitants of the town.
But there is one disturbing fact that requires an explanation. The German ambassador was not among the group of fifteen, because on March 10, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, had visited Beit Shemesh in the company of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. But why were the ambassadors of the U.K., France, and Italy not present? The forces of Islam have placed Western civilization under assault. Many Muslims hate Israel because it refuses to surrender its tiny homeland, built on territory that was once possessed by Muslims and thus, in their eyes,, must forever remain Muslim.. The countries of the West should take every opportunity to express solidarity with the Jewish state. On March 18, fifteen of them did so on a visit to Beit Shemesh. Many others should have.
Photo credit: Bukvoed, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
