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Almost a month into the war between Israel and Hamas, the European Union is still struggling to speak with one voice. While EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed unconditional support for Israel, some of her own staff have signed a letter criticising her position, along with employees from other EU institutions. Some EU member states continue to express strong support for Israel, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, while others worry that such stances may harm the bloc’s image.

The furore over the Israel-Hamas war has reached all the way to Birobidzhan in Russia’s Far East, the world’s only autonomous Jewish territory outside Israel, after a local newspaper published its support for the Palestinian cause. FRANCE 24 examines the history of this remote region – which in many ways is “Jewish” and “autonomous” in name only – and how it came to be.