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Overseas events rarely inflame public passions in Slovenia, so a small gathering of protestors, condemning what they see as excessive force used by Israel in its crackdown of Hamas in Gaza, was somewhat unusual. The peaceful protest in front on Slovenia's parliament in mid-January urged the Slovenian government to take a tougher line on Israel. The protestors argued that the official silence in response to Israel's military operations amounts to a de facto approval of violence. In their eyes, Slovenia, along with most of the Western world, effectively tolerates Israel's excesses.

Indeed, Slovenia's policy towards Israel is firmly in line with the rest of the EU. Despite voicing concern about civilian deaths in Gaza, Slovenia chose to abstain from voting on UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel for violating the human rights of the Palestinians. Other EU members also abstained, arguing that the resolution wasn't sufficiently balanced.

Nevertheless, several coalition MPs criticized Slovenia's abstention during a meeting of Slovenia's Foreign Affairs Committee, even though they were quick to portray the matter as a mere disagreement rather than a major political divide. This time, it was the opposition MPs who generally approved of the government's handling of the vote.

A number of Slovenian commentators, particularly on the centre-left, also urged Slovenia to take a tougher stance on Israel and condemned Slovenia's abstention on the Israel resolution.

On January 17, a few days after the original protest in front of Slovenia's parliament, the Slovenian Muslim Community organized another protest, this time on Ljubljana's Congress Square. The protest's organizer, Osman Đogić, even compared the situation in Gaza with the Srebrenica massacre. Slovenia's human rights ombudswoman Dr. Zdenka Čebašek-Travnik and Janez Kozamernik of Amnesty International joined others in addressing the gathering.

A number of Slovenian media outlets, including the daily Delo, also took a line firmly critical of Israel during Israel's military operation. Some observers, including Jewish-Slovenian Klemen Jelinčič Boeta, argue that the instinctively anti-Israeli positions taken by much of the Slovenian public have its roots partly in the pro-Arab policies of Communist-era Yugoslavia and the Non-Aligned Movement. Others strongly deny the charge that criticism of Israel amounts to leftist anti-Semitism.

Whatever the motive behind the criticism, it appears unlikely that Slovenia's attitude towards the Middle East crisis will change in the near future. Slovenia is unlikely to break from the common EU policy on the matter, and even many voices sharply critical of Israel acknowledge that little Slovenia is in no position to make a substantive difference. The debate is therefore primarily symbolic. Besides, Slovenia and Israel enjoy good relations, and Slovenia is a popular tourist destination among Israelis.

What Slovenia may do, however, is send its forces to the region. Defence Minister Ljubica Jelušič, citing the humanitarian catastrophe caused by what she sees as Israel's asymmetric response, announced that Slovenia is ready and willing to participate in a possible peacekeeping mission in Gaza.