On September 15, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Israelis to adopt a “super Sparta” approach, meaning “self-reliance,” to face the growing isolation following the Gaza war. He later retracted his statement, calling it a “slip of the tongue” due to criticism from the Israeli opposition.

Israel’s ability to forge multi-level foreign relations has given it significant flexibility to mitigate the impact of isolation, making it much lighter than that faced by its major adversary, Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has focused on aligning with countries sharing Iran’s anti-US aspirations, paying a heavy price. During Israel’s recent war on Iran, China and Russia limited their stance to condemnation, with Moscow causing more damage.

Iran supported Russia during its difficult war against Ukraine by helping produce drones, but once Russia developed its own drone industry, it effectively abandoned Tehran. Iran also faced European backlash for supporting the first war on European soil since World War II, triggering UN sanctions. Despite rumors of Iran obtaining advanced Chinese weapons, nothing serious is on the horizon.

In contrast to Iran’s political and economic isolation, Israel’s isolation is mostly media and moral. Israel’s relative success in reducing its isolation is not solely due to its historic ties with the US, but also because it has become the world’s eighth largest arms exporter, with over half of its military exports going to Europe. India also buys Israeli weapons, allowing Israel to penetrate the Global South.

Ukraine recently received the Patriot air defense system from Israel, which Israel was happy to offload as it prefers its own systems (David’s Sling and Arrow) for intercepting ballistic missiles.

In conclusion, not all isolations are the same, and the strength of isolation is rarely linked to the strength of the rhetoric behind it. An Israeli executive told The Economist that the closure of Israeli companies’ offices at a French air defense exhibition was unrelated to the war but was due to competition over European contracts, with Israeli companies winning. Even the French presidential plane uses an Israeli protection system.