Role of Agenda-Setting Mechanism in Controlling European Public Opinion Vs Zionist

The anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement is a popular movement which has been formed in Europe since several years ago and is spreading very rapidly. The objectives of this movement, however, do not correspond with the internal and external policies of the European Union. By reviewing the related news stories, this paper intends to show how the European states have tried to prevent expansion of the movement and control the magnitude of its effects on public opinion of the European people by using some kind of ‘agenda-setting’ in the mass media as well as internal and external policies. It is argued in the theoretical framework of the research that agenda setting is subject to interaction of public attitude, media content and government measures.
The public attitude of the Europeans and the BDS movement as a source of concern and threat for the European people has been reviewed as effective components in the agenda-setting mechanism. The European states measures to tackle this problem have been reviewed as the third component of this mechanism.
These measures have two dimensions: one is concentration on Jewish settlements and its condemnation and the other is countering the measures and behaviors that target the integrity of the Zionist regime.