After the boycott decision by Britain's University and College Union (UCU), it is a great temptation to say the whole world is against us - or at least that all of Europe is. We need to resist this temptation. The picture is much more complicated. Anyone who feared - or hoped - that the ugly manifestations of the boycott heralded a real European effort against Israel and its interests does not know Europe and the relationship between Europe and Israel.

In fact, European countries recently gave their full support to Israel joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. European funding for joint research and development projects with Israel - which the UCU wants stopped - is more extensive than ever before, and can only be expected to expand further. Economic ties between Israel and the European Union have grown closer in recent years, in step with the calls for boycotts. New agreements have upgraded Israel's position and opened doors that had previously been closed. Israel's economic and technological standing has turned the country into an important partner that Europe has no intention of giving up. But it is more than a matter of economic interests: Israeli films (non-political ones) have recently won prestigious prizes at Cannes. The boycotters can irritate and do damage to Israeli scholars, but they cannot break Israel.

An extensive survey by the Anti-Defamation League on attitudes about Jews and Israel in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland reveals a more complex picture. On the one hand, the findings show that anti-Semitism is alive and well in Europe. Thirty-nine percent of Europeans believe that Jews have an inordinate influence on the business world, and 44 percent believe this regarding the international financial markets. Twenty percent believe the Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus. It would not be surprising to discover that the number of Europeans who believe in Jesus these days is lower than the number who believe that the Jews crucified him.

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With regard to the Middle East conflict, 15 percent support Israel and 24 percent support the Palestinians. The Palestinians therefore have a clear advantage, but even so, it should be noted that support for them is not high. It seems that with all the criticism of Israel, Europeans are convinced that the Palestinians are no great bargain either.

However, it seems the most significant responses are those reflecting a general view of Israeli society by Europeans. A clear majority believes that Israel is an "open and democratic society." Sixty percent of the French believe this, 27 percent do not. In Germany, the rate is 54 percent to 33 percent, and in Italy, it is 49 percent to 35 percent. In Spain and Poland, slightly more people believe Israel is not a democratic society than those who do. Thirty-three percent of Europeans have a generally positive attitude toward Israel, as opposed to 19 percent who have a negative view. Rather surprisingly, 53 percent believe Israel aspires to peace.

With regard to the Palestinians, a large majority (even in Spain and Poland, where the attitude toward Jews and Israel is very negative) sees Hamas as a terror organization and not a legitimate national movement. They believe that Hamas wants to destroy Israel, and they support the EU decision to boycott Hamas until it recognizes Israel and disavows terror.

So most Europeans, even when they criticize Israel, see a conflict between an open and democratic society and an Islamic terror organization seeking to destroy it. This fact angers those who support the boycott, but it is a fact nonetheless. It is reasonable to assume that in the near future nothing will happen in Europe that will cause public opinion to identify with the Islamic terror organizations fighting against open and democratic societies.