Why Do Czechs Back Israel? Scholar Points to West-East Perceptions

Jerusalem, 9 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Prague (CTK) – Czechs are on the side of Israel in the war in the Gaza Strip, among other things, because they perceive it as part of the Western world, while the Palestinians are perceived as different, oriental. This is a significant factor, although not the only one. Bronislav Ostřanský from the Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic told ČTK.

According to him, the media, which simplify the conflict, also contribute to the different perceptions.

The Czech Republic is one of Israel’s biggest allies in Europe, based on historical ties dating back to 1947, when Czechoslovakia supported the establishment of Israel in the UN and supplied it with military equipment and weapons during its first struggles for independence.

The scientist emphasized that the war in Israel and Gaza is the result of many complex processes. “However, commentators in various newspapers have reduced the conflict to a football match. And you either support Sparta or Slavia. They give people what they want to hear, what is in demand. Public opinion on this topic is quite unambiguous in terms of sympathies and antipathies towards one or the other side of the conflict, and the media only confirm this belief. We are repeating the same mistake as ten years ago during the migration crisis,” says Ostřanský.

According to Ostřanský, the so-called Orient is still surrounded by many stereotypes. In the past, this was largely due to its inaccessibility, which gave Western civilization even more room for various ideas. According to the scientist, getting to the Orient was for a long time something exclusive, which is why at first it was mainly visited by pilgrims and missionaries, or diplomats. It was only in the 19th century that modern tourism began to emerge, and according to Ostřanský, the writer Jan Neruda was a great pioneer in Bohemia.

According to the scientist, the values ​​of the Western and Oriental worlds were often seen as complete opposites. “While, in quotation marks, we are the rational ones, they are bigoted fanatics who believe in various superstitions. While we gravitate towards democracy, they towards tyranny. We are monogamous, they have harems there,” described Ostřanský. This then gave rise to stereotypes, some of which, according to the scientist, have persisted to this day. “For example, if we were to compare selected passages from the religious-polemical work Antialkorán by Václav Budovec from Budov from the 17th century with what the then leader of the Czech anti-Islamic movement Martin Konvička preached in our country ten years ago, it is very, very similar in many respects,” added the scientist.

According to Ostřanský, the geographical definition of the Orient has always been ambiguous. While the term is currently usually synonymous with Asia, in the past the Orient referred more to its Middle Eastern part. With the development of tourism and geographical discoveries, the borders of the Orient shifted ever further east.

According to the scientist, the most problematic aspect of defining the Orient has always been its western border. “The Orient began where ours ended, in quotation marks. Our world, our values ​​and civilization, and where theirs began. For example, for the ancient Greeks, the Orient was Persia, for someone else, the Orient began in Germany. Where the Orient lies is fundamentally based on where its observer is,” added Ostřanský.

Israel launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip following a terrorist attack by Hamas and its allies on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. A ceasefire last October eased the conflict, but both sides have questioned its compliance. Hamas has kept its weapons despite the agreements, and the Israeli military has refused to withdraw from the part of the territory it still controls.