Israeli Jews are sharply divided on the balance between synagogue and state. Almost all want the state to retain its Jewish national identity while resisting religious coercion in daily life: polls consistently show majority support for freedom of religion (83%) and separation of well as for civil marriage, public transport on Shabbat and drafting the ultra-Orthodox. At the most secular edge, the Liberal Zionists seek to widen the separation. Some would go as far as closing the Chief Rabbinate and the rabbinical courts, ending their monopoly over marriage and divorce. @ECFRMena

Check out the report authored by Beth Oppenheim: ecfr.eu/special/the-id…

🗓️ 29 October - 09:30-13:30 CET

📍 @ComisionEuropea, Madrid

How can Europe secure cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy?

📝 Register here ⬇️ @ECFRMadrid

Panel I: energy security and sovereignty, moderated by @Carla_Hobbs (@ECFRMadrid)

Panel II: building new energy infrastructure, moderated by @noah_gordon_ (@ECFRPower)

🟠Participants, amongst others: @FernandoSMEU (@MAECgob),  @DCallejaEC (@ComisionEuropea),  José Manuel   Pedro Amaral Jorge (OMIP),  Paula Ceballos (@ComisionEuropea),  @g_escribano (@rielcano) and @sd270 (@ECFRPower)

Israeli electoral politics has lost its ideological coherence. Over the past decade, the country has reorganised politically around a single question: for or against Netanyahu. This has upended traditional alliances, fragmented the mainstream right and hollowed out the liberal defined mainly by its anti-Netanyahu stance.

The project organises the four Jewish political camps according to their ideas of what kind of country Israel should be. Check it out: ecfr.eu/special/the-id… @ECFRMena

This is not the “old Israel”—and Europeans need to reckon with that reality. Its liberal forces have weakened while its ultra-nationalist ones are ascendant. These shifts will endure far beyond Netanyahu.

ECFR's new project maps the battle of ideas for the country's future and mean for Europe. @ECFRMena Check this out: ecfr.eu/special/the-id…

How do we imagine Europe’s future in times of war and political upheaval?

On 16 October @nicupopescu joins the European Cultural Foundation for HYBRIDREAMS at the Moldova Pavilion in Venice bringing his expertise in foreign policy, European security and Moldova’s EU integration tps://t.co/0ckSwTfxcX

Israel's illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country in their image. This is a structural transformation that runs deeper than October's election and will outlast Netanyahu. ECFR's web special maps the battle of ideas for the country's future and what a new urope. @ECFRMena
🧵 👇 ecfr.eu/special/the-id…

How do we imagine Europe’s future in times of war and political upheaval?

On 16 October (16:00–18:00 CET), @nicupopescu joins the European Cultural Foundation for HYBRIDREAMS at the Moldova Pavilion in Venice—bringing his experience in foreign policy, European security and n to the discussion.

In the global south, young people aren’t just imitating Chinese practices like drinking hot water or trying out tai chi. They are watching as China reshapes their daily experiences ,writes Mark Leonard

Read commentary here: ecfr.eu/article/a-futu…

🎧 New week, new episode!

This week, Mark Leonard is joined by Cary Fowler, founder and president of the Food Security Leadership Council and former US global food security envoy, and Jim O’Brien.. Together they explore how a new international coalition could prevent millions g into hunger

Listen here: ecfr.eu/podcasts/episo…

"The war is producing a new elite cohort whose careers and status are inseparable from the war. Like any elite group in other post-Soviet authoritarian systems, this cohort has its own set of functions and tasks, which it performs in the interests of the ruling circle or—in the ian system—for the ruler himself", writes Mikhail Komin

Read full policy brief here: ecfr.eu/publication/bo…

Weapons that took decades to develop can now be countered within months. European governments need to stop buying finished platforms and start running an innovation cycle, in which soldiers learn from one system and build these lessons into the next, writes Yavuz Türkgenci
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How can Europe build on this underlying confidence while responding to growing public concerns about security, prosperity and its place in the world?

Read the full interactive study: ecfr.eu/special/future…

New polling published by ECFR shows that Britons across the political divide favour banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, writes ECFR´s senior policy Fellow Hugh Lovatt

Read here: ecfr.eu/article/briton…

"It would be a huge mistake to think that the European public could be divided into two baskets. Those who are in favour and those who are against Europe. The picture is more complex" , says ECFR´s Senior Policy Fellow Pawel Zerka

Watch full interview: youtube.com/watch?v=HMVqLT…

In our lastest research, @Paweł Zerka finds that while support for a stronger Europe remains widespread, many Europeans are unsure how the continent can navigate geopolitical tensions, economic pressures and political fragmentation to get there

Read the full interactive study:
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New multi-country research by the @ecfr and European Cultural Foundation reveals a crisis of confidence in Europe’s future - creating fertile ground for Trumpian and far-right narratives of European weakness and decline.

Study author and ECFR senior policy fellow, Pawel Zerka, national leaders do not need to invent a new European dream, but make the one Europeans already share believable again. Ahead of Ursula von der Leyen’s annual ‘State of the Union’ address, he calls for “fewer grand promises” and more “proof of trajectory” so that the European public can recover the sense that the tomorrow they want is within reach. @ECFRPower

ecfr.eu/special/future…

If there were another referendum, the majority of people in the UK would vote to join the EU. Read the full report by @markhleonard 👉 ecfr.eu/publication/br…

Asked who is most likely to share the UK’s interests in a major global crisis or conflict, 47% say EU countries. Only 10% say the US.

Beyond trade, British voters want closer EU ties on defence, energy and technology too.

63% say the UK should prioritise its relationship with Europe. Just 19% say the US.

As in the Canadian debate, trade was central to Brexit. A decade on, British voters are rethinking the old trade-offs.

63% would accept freedom of movement for EU citizens in exchange for a closer trading relationship with the EU.

As part of the summer recommendation list, Kat Fytatzi recommends The Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s translation. A fresh and compelling take on a classic, revealing the flaws, violence, and uncomfortable truths often softened in earlier versions.

🌞 📖Discover more summer FR: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

🎧 New week, new episode!
Mark Leonard talks with Hugh Lovatt about a turbulent summer in Israel and the Palestinian territories, from Gaza’s future governance to settlement expansion in the West Bank and Israel’s upcoming elections

Listen here: ecfr.eu/podcasts/

As part of the summer recommendation list, Teresa Coratella recommends Ozark on Netflix. A gripping crime thriller filled with family tensions, plot twists, memorable characters, and stunning landscapes that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.

🌞 📖 Discover more summer FR: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

As part of the summer recommendation list, Elsa Scholz recommends Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. A gripping account of the Sackler dynasty, corporate power, and the opioid crisis.

🌞 📖 Check our summer recommendation list

🎧 New week, new episode!
This week, Mark Leonard welcomes @oertel_janka and @ajwsmall. Chinese competition, driven by overcapacity and state-backed industrial strength, is hitting Germany is at the epicentre. Mounting job losses are raising questions about Europe’s long-term competitiveness.

Is Germany able to lead a coherent European response amid its own political turbulence?

Listen here: ecfr.eu/podcasts/

Every time an overflight of critical infrastructure or incursion at the eastern flank happens, wherever it comes from, Russia learns something about Europe’s ability to fight (or otherwise) against these systems, writes @RikeFranke in her latest policy brief 👇
ecfr.eu/publication/bu…

Summer recommendation from ECFR’s Karel Solař: The Power of the Powerless by Václav Havel.
A classic essay written in communist Czechoslovakia that examines conformity, dissent and the power of individuals to challenge authoritarian systems by living in truth.

📖 🌞 More r Summer Entertainment List 2026: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

🎧 New week, new episode!

Mark Leonard welcomes Jörg Lau and Jana Puglierin to explore the political turmoil in Germany ahead of next autumn´s elections. Friedrich Merz’s government is becoming increasingly unpopular: it faces collapsing approval ratings, growing tension within and mounting pressure from the far-right

What happens if the AfD makes gains at the regional level? And what would it mean for Europe?

Listen here: ecfr.eu/?post_type=pod…

Summer recommendation from ECFR’s Daria Jankiel: The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al Aswany.
A vivid story of colonial Egypt that explores power, class and resistance through the lives of those inside a British-run club in 1950s Cairo.

📖 🌞 More recommendations from our st 2026: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

Summer recommendation from ECFR’s Ana Martínez: Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.
Explores poverty, resilience and survival through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl in Mississippi days before Hurricane Katrina.

📖 🌞 More recommendations from our Summer Entertainment List 2026:

For ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Amy Sandys recommends Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. A gripping novel that follows Thomas Cromwell’s rise through the Tudor court, bringing the intrigue, ambition and power struggles of Henry VIII’s England vividly to life.

Read more FR colleagues: bit.ly/4vNroTF

🎧 New week, new episode!

Mark Leonard welcomes former mexican foreign minister Jorge Castañeda who explains why China's role in Latin America varies dramatically across the region. Or why economic ties to the US leave Mexico with far less room for manoeuvre than Brazil.
.co/gWZMwuBn04

As part of ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Nevada Joan Lee, Policy Fellow at ECFR, recommends Bundyville by NPR.

Structured like a true-crime series, the podcast explores the Bundy family’s standoff with the US federal government and offers a compelling look at nt, ideas of freedom, and the political currents that helped shape America in the years that followed.

📖 🌞 More recommendations from ECFR colleagues: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

As part of ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Teresa Coratella recommends Beloved by Toni Morrison. A powerful and unforgettable novel exploring memory, trauma, identity and survival through one of literature’s most celebrated voices.

📖 🌞 Check our summer recommendation ubdESJ

🎧 New week, new episode!

In this week’s World in 30 Minutes, LuHan Gabel reflects on why many young people in China are increasingly questioning traditional ideas of modernity, success and progress.

Listen here: ecfr.eu/podcasts/

Nele Anders recommends Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026. Through the lives of unforgettable characters, the novel explores conflict, identity, love and the legacy of colonialism during the Nigerian Civil War.

📖 🌞 ommendation list: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

What can travel teach us about society and change? In ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Mireia Faro recommends My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem—a memoir full of stories about activism, politics and the people behind the headlines.

📖 🌞 Check here for more //t.co/FkhdubdESJ

For ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Lena Krause recommends Endling by Maria Reva. A witty and powerful novel that follows three women on an unexpected journey across Ukraine, exploring resilience, survival and human connection on the eve of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
summer recommendations: ecfr.eu/article/ecfrs-…

For ECFR’s Summer Entertainment List 2026, Irene Olombrada recommends Papyrus by Irene Vallejo. From Alexandria’s libraries to the evolution of books, this captivating read celebrates humanity’s enduring relationship with stories, knowledge and culture.

📖 🌞 Explore the full mmendations: bit.ly/4vNroTF

🎧 Making Defence European Again is a four-part podcast series from the European Council on Foreign Relations exploring the future of European security and defence.

ecfr.eu/podcast-series…

🎧 New week, new episode!

European leaders left Ankara relieved that US president Donald Trump has reaffirmed US support for NATO and avoided announcing major troop withdrawals, but fundamental questions about Washington’s long-term commitment remain unresolved. Mark Leonard , Prochwicz Jazowska explore how Europe can strengthen its own defence capabilities while maintaining NATO as the cornerstone of collective security.

And can Europe strengthen its own defence without weakening the transatlantic alliance?

Listen here: ecfr.eu/podcasts/

Who would send their forces against the United States to help Denmark to retake Greenland?

Listen to Marta Prochwicz Jazowska's full intervention during our Annual Council Meeting in Vienna.

Can Europe support Ukraine while keeping the door to diplomacy open?

The latest episode of Making Defence European Again examines the strategic choices facing Europe as the war enters a new chapter.

youtu.be/_RHAtMXE-zc

🎧 Making Defence European Again is a four-part podcast series from the European Council on Foreign Relations exploring the future of European security and defence.

ecfr.eu/podcast-series…

What role should Ukraine play in Europe's future security architecture?

The latest episode of *Making Defence European Again* explores what ECFR polling reveals about Europeans' views on enlargement—and why Ukraine's future is about more than EU membership.

🎧 Making Defence European Again is a four-part podcast series from the European Council on Foreign Relations exploring the future of European security and defence.

ecfr.eu/podcast-series…

Has Russia achieved what it set out to do in Ukraine?

The latest episode of Making Defence European Again examines what more than three years of war reveal about Russia's campaign—and why many of Moscow's strategic objectives remain out of reach.

European public opinion on defence is changing—and fast.

Recent polling points to a significant shift in how Europeans view defence and security. Support for increasing defence spending has reached levels not seen in years, with many now backing investments of up to 5% of GDP.
ange?

The evolving geopolitical landscape has fundamentally reshaped public perceptions. As confidence in the United States as Europe's primary security guarantor has declined, more Europeans are recognizing that Europe's security increasingly depends on Europe itself.

youtube.com/watch?v=RfqNMx…

Is Europe still asking the wrong questions about Ukraine?

The latest episode of Making Defence European Again explores why the debate should move beyond EU enlargement—and what Europe can learn from Ukraine's wartime experience.