December 2024

The Bridge IV: Friction : The Time of Monsters

June 2023

For the 75 years of Israel, I published an opinion on the Times of Israel entitled ‘Am Segula’

Am Segula

EUJS Campaign: Theodor and I – Zionism & Young European Jews

Bashana Haba’a Be’Yerushalaim. For two thousand years, every Jew has said this phrase at least once a year, during Pesach. This was always a dream. But since 1948, this dream has become a reality. Yet, here we are, 75 years and a dozen wars later.

In his book The Jewish State, Theodor Herzl expressed a vision. But while there were many Zionists before him and after him, Herzl was the right person at the right moment. Around his period, Dreyfus was wrongfully convicted in Paris and antisemitism was gaining more and more ground across Europe. Aliyot had already begun, youth groups such as Hashomer Hatzaïr had established Kibbutzim in what would be Eretz Israel. Eliezer Ben Yehuda was already reviving the Hebrew language and Montefiore was leading the way towards a modern Israel. The reality of a Jewish State was not a dream anymore, it was already becoming a reality.

Once Ben Gurion declared independence in 1948, no challenge seemed impossible. Who would have imagined that Israel would become a beacon of hope, a flourishing democracy, a prosperous nation and a welcoming home for millions of people?

However, there is a blemish.

The political decisions about the Territories following the Six-Day War have badly damaged the Zionist dream. The oppression of another people and the occupation of territories has ultimately taken the Jewish people away from being ‘Am Segula’. Just as Ben Gurion warned from Sde Boker, the kibbutz in the Negev where he was spending his final days.

Today, Bibi’s conceptual system has become Israel’s reality and pushed the nation, the dream, to the brink of destruction.

However, I am proud.

I am proud of what the Jewish people have accomplished in only 75 years.

I am proud of what Israel has accomplished in only 75 years.

I am proud of being a Zionist.

I am proud of those fighting for freedom, justice and democracy.

And I want to remain proud.

I want my brothers and sisters to live in peace with their neighbors and to live freely in a country where the rights of everyone are respected, no matter their religious beliefs, sexual identity or political background.

This is my wish for Israel’s 75th birthday; simply because these are Jewish values and these are the values that fueled Theodore Herzl, David Ben Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir and many more pioneers who dedicated their lives to making this dream come true.

More than ever, I am a proud Zionist. And if I no longer have to dream of having a Jewish State like my ancestors did, I still hope. I hope for the day when we, the Jewish people, that have overcome so many disasters, challenges, and sadness, will be, Am Segula.

Am Israel Chai!

In 2022, I contributed to the third edition of The Bridge Magazine : Reflections,, published by the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS). This third edition was notably prefaced by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Read my article on the duty to remember “It is not (only) jewish history” on page 66.

The Bridge Magazine III – Reflections Télécharger

My Master Thesis focused on the conduct of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America in the United Nations Security Council on the Syrian issue (for Russia and PRC) and on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (for the USA).

In this paper, I defended the idea that these three States used (and instrumentalised) their veto power at the UNSC as a main foreign policy tool, aiming to maintain or gain assets and power in the Middle East and globally. The very essence of multilateralism at the United Nations being blocked by the vast use of interest-based vetoes proved a fascinating issue to analyze.

The main conclusion was that the PRC is the emerging power in the region, challenging the USA (dominant power). In a very “peaceful” manner, China is settling in the Middle East through the building of military bases and strong alliances based on a ‘Chinese ideology of international relations’. Simultaneously, Russia seems to try to keep its last asset in the region by intervening in Syria and, by the same way, showing other States that the ‘Russian alternative’ to the US-Western order is viable.

Master Thesis of Eitan Bergman – “Blocages et Instrumentalisations du Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies. Les cas du conflit israélo-palestinien et syrien”.Télécharger

I also contributed to « Méthodes d’enquête de terrain », an academic publication (presses de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles) published in 2020.
In this study, I carried out a research on the theme of a « post-truth era » and more specifically on the impact of the loss of trust of citizens in their journalists, reporters and traditional medias.