By: Abe Wertenheim

At first glance, the prevailing narrative across much of Europe appears unmistakable. Public demonstrations, parliamentary resolutions and increasingly strident rhetoric have signaled a growing hostility toward Israel in parts of the continent, particularly since the war that erupted after Oct. 7, 2023. Yet beneath this turbulent political surface, a very different story is unfolding—one grounded not in slogans or sentiment, but in balance sheets, employment figures and strategic necessity. According to a report that appeared on Wednesday at The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), Europe’s economic relationship with Israel is not contracting. It is deepening, accelerating and, in many sectors, becoming structurally indispensable.

A comprehensive new report produced jointly by EIT Hub Israel, Planven VC and KPMG maps the expanding footprint of Israeli technology companies across Europe. The findings, repeatedly highlighted by The Jewish News Syndicate, reveal a paradox that is impossible to ignore: even as public opinion toward Israel grows more hostile in certain European societies, Israeli technology firms are embedding themselves more firmly than ever into the continent’s economic and security architecture.

According to the report, more than 1,600 Israeli technology companies now operate across Europe, collectively employing over 30,000 people. This presence is not static. The workforce has grown at an average annual rate of 4.8% over the past three years—a period marked by pandemic recovery, geopolitical upheaval and war. As the JNS report noted, these figures point not to opportunistic expansion, but to long-term strategic commitment.

One of the most striking conclusions of the report is that Israeli companies operating in Europe no longer fit the familiar caricature of fledgling startups using the continent as a stepping stone to the United States. Instead, Europe has become a core market in its own right.

“The data highlights the significant presence of the Israeli technology ecosystem in Europe,” said Dina Pasca-Raz, partner and head of Technology at KPMG Israel, in comments cited in the JNS report. “However, the nature of this activity and the profile of these companies differ from the familiar model of a young startup initially targeting the U.S. market.”

According to Pasca-Raz, approximately 60% of Israeli companies operating in Europe are mature enterprises, typically between eight and twelve years old, with proven business models and established revenue streams. These are not experimental ventures testing foreign waters; they are seasoned firms making calculated investments in talent, infrastructure and leadership.

Crucially, 31% of Israeli companies active in Europe now have senior executives—at the vice president or C-suite level—based permanently on the continent. Among larger firms, that figure rises to an extraordinary 71%. Such leadership localization is one of the strongest indicators of long-term confidence, particularly at a time when political and social headwinds might have suggested caution.

The report’s authors argue that Israeli technology is thriving in Europe not because of ideological affinity, but because of strategic alignment. As detailed in the JNS report, Israel’s core technological strengths map almost perfectly onto the European Union’s stated priorities for the 2024–2029 period.

These priorities include cybersecurity resilience, artificial intelligence, defense-related innovation, climate technologies and digital infrastructure. In each of these domains, Israeli firms have spent decades developing capabilities under conditions of acute pressure and limited resources—conditions that reward efficiency, adaptability and rapid innovation.

Europe’s reliance on Israeli technology, the report argues, is fundamentally structural. European governments and corporations are seeking greater strategic autonomy—particularly in security and critical infrastructure—without becoming wholly dependent on either the United States or China. Israeli companies occupy a unique middle ground: technologically advanced, politically independent and deeply integrated into Western regulatory and business frameworks.

As the JNS report noted, this dynamic places Israeli technology at the center of Europe’s economic and security mission for the coming decade. From securing telecommunications networks and protecting critical infrastructure to developing AI systems that optimize transportation, healthcare and energy use, Israeli firms are increasingly indispensable to Europe’s ambitions.

Geographically, the presence of Israeli technology companies spans both EU and non-EU countries. According to the data cited in the JNS report, major hubs have emerged in Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland and Ukraine. At the same time, Central and Eastern Europe have become important operational centers, with growing activity in Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

This diversification reflects a deliberate strategy. Western Europe offers access to large markets, regulatory influence and capital, while Eastern and Central Europe provide highly skilled workforces, competitive costs and proximity to emerging markets. Israeli companies are leveraging both advantages, building resilient networks that are less vulnerable to localized political or economic shocks.

Among the Israeli firms with the largest workforce footprints across Europe are globally recognized names such as SentinelOne, Wix, CyberArk, Check Point and Playtika. These companies are not merely employing European workers; they are establishing research and development centers, forging partnerships with universities, and embedding themselves in local innovation ecosystems.

“Israeli technology has become a significant economic and innovative force within Europe,” said Eden Dvir-Zano, Managing Director of EIT Hub Israel, in remarks reported by JNS. “The data demonstrate how deeply Israeli companies are embedding themselves in the European market. They are not only creating tens of thousands of jobs, but also establishing R&D centers, building long-term partnerships with universities and industry, and contributing directly to core areas Europe has defined as priorities.”

Yet this deepening economic integration is unfolding against a troubling social backdrop. Antisemitism in Europe has surged dramatically since Oct. 7, 2023. A recent survey from Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism found that antisemitic incidents have increased by as much as 400% in some regions. Even more alarmingly, 96% of Jews in Europe reported encountering antisemitism in their daily lives.

This reality creates a profound cognitive dissonance. On the one hand, European institutions and corporations are increasingly reliant on Israeli innovation. On the other, many Jews and Israelis report feeling unsafe, unwelcome or targeted in the very societies that benefit from their contributions.

As the JNS report observed, this tension raises difficult questions for Israeli entrepreneurs, executives and employees operating in Europe. Can long-term business integration coexist with social hostility? Can economic rationality ultimately temper political extremism? Or will the gap between institutional openness and street-level sentiment widen further?

Despite these concerns, the data suggests that Israeli companies are, for now, choosing pragmatism over retreat. As Pasca-Raz told JNS, “Despite geopolitical challenges and the sentiment we’ve seen over the past two years, there is a natural synergy between Israel’s strengths in AI, cybersecurity, robotics, and defense.”

She expressed cautious optimism that the eventual end of the war would pave the way for renewed collaboration and broader adoption of Israeli technologies across Europe. Such collaboration, she argued, is not merely desirable but necessary, given Europe’s pressing security and digital transformation needs.

This sentiment is echoed by investors. Elle Taitou Spruch, an investor at the pan-European venture capital firm Planven, emphasized that the trends identified in the report point toward acceleration rather than retrenchment. “The data shows that Israeli startups are deepening their long-term presence in Europe,” she said in comments cited by JNS. “The alignment between Israel’s strengths in AI, cybersecurity, and health and Europe’s priorities is creating meaningful opportunities.”

Looking ahead, the central question facing Europe may not be whether Israeli technology companies have a future on the continent, but whether Europe can afford to politicize the very sectors on which its future depends. Europe may protest Israel in the public square, but in the realm of economic planning, infrastructure development and security policy, it is quietly building a future that relies heavily on Israeli innovation.

Israeli companies are helping to secure Europe’s digital networks against cyber threats, strengthen its defense capabilities in an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment, optimize its infrastructure for sustainability and efficiency, and drive its ambitions in artificial intelligence. These contributions are not peripheral; they are foundational.

The data laid out by EIT Hub Israel, Planven VC and KPMG paints a picture of interdependence that transcends politics. Even amid social tension and rising antisemitism, economic logic continues to assert itself. The gap between Europe’s rhetoric and its reality has rarely been more pronounced.

In the end, Europe faces a choice. It can attempt to reconcile its political discourse with its economic dependencies, or it can allow the contradiction to fester. What is already clear, however, is that Israeli technology is no longer an external input to Europe’s future. It is woven into its very fabric—and disentangling it would come at a cost few European leaders are prepared to pay.