Antisemitism in various countries

Anti-Defamation League ADL conducts surveys regarding attitudes and opinions toward Jewish people in over hundred countries around the world (1). The Times of Israel reported about some recent findings. A survey conducted by ADL in 10 European countries found that significant portions of people in those countries believe various antisemitic stereotypes. Over third of people in Poland and Hungary still have “extensive” antisemitic beliefs, even though the amount of those kind of respondents is much smaller compared to previous survey. (2)

References:

1) ADL website: https://global100.adl.org/map/

2) “Over a third of people in Hungary, Poland have ‘extensive’ antisemitic beliefs – poll” The Times of Israel 31.5.2023

https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-a-third-of-people-in-hungary-poland-have-extensive-antisemitic-beliefs-poll/

Notes on far-right parties and politics in Europe

Last week, Finland became the latest country to join NATO. However, Finland also became the latest country in Europe where far-right party surged in elections. Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset) nearly won the elections and received 20% of the votes. Support of far-right and right-wing populist parties has remained strong in Europe and far-right parties have become part of mainstream politics, so it is possible that Finns Party will be part of the new Finnish government – the former version of the Finns Party was part of Finnish coalition government during years 2015-2017. (1, 2, 3).

Here is a list of support of some far-right parties in European countries. Most of the parties in the list are considered to be far-right parties, for example Belgian party Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) or Spanish party Vox. Some parties are considered to be hardline right-wing populist and/or nationalist parties bordering on far-right, for example Polish party Law and Justice and Hungarian party Fidesz – these two ruling parties have caused conflict with the European Union because of their breaches of the rule of law in their countries and they have also been trying to unite the hardline nationalist and far-right parties in Europe (7).

Austria Freedom Party of Austria FPÖ 28%
Belgium Flemish Interest / Vlaams Belang 24%
Bulgaria Revival 14%
Croatia Homeland Movement DPMŠ 9%
Cyprus National Popular Front ELAM 7%
Czech Republic Freedom and Direct Democracy SPD 9%
Denmark Denmark Democrats DD 9% Danish People’s Party DF 4%
Estonia Conservative People’s Party of Estonia EKRE 17%
Finland Finns Party PS 20%
France* National Rally RN 20% Reconquest REC 5%
Germany Alternative for Germany AfD 15%
Greece* National Party – Greeks EKE 3.9%
Hungary Fidesz 50% Our Home Movement MH 10%
Italy Brothers of Italy Fdl 29% Lega 9%
Netherlands Party for Freedom PVV 9 % Forum for Democracy FvD 5%
Poland Law and Justice/United Right ZP 36% Confederation Freedom and Independence 9% Kukiz’15 2%
Portugal Enough / Chega 13%
Romania Alliance for the Unity of Romanians AUR 18%
Slovakia Republic REP 9% People’s Party – Our Slovakia L´SNS 2%
Slovenia Slovenian National Party SNS 2%
Spain Vox 15%
Sweden Sweden Democrats SD 18%

(Polling information was taken from Politico’s Poll of Polls or PolitPro* website, some information about the political parties is also from Europe Elects website, 4, 5, 6)

The situation in Europe, and in the West in general, is similar to the 1930’s. The far right has been getting stronger. Last December, after the arrests of the members of the Reichsbürger movement in Germany, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the “biggest threat of terrorism” is posed by far-right and white supremacist groups in the West (8). However, there seem to be two far-right trends that are sometimes intertwined. First of all, support for the older ethno-nationalist, racist and antisemitic far right seems to have increased. Some far-right parties, for example German party Alternative for Germany (AfD), have veered further to the right (9). There are also new openly fascist parties with connections to neo-Nazis, for example Blue-and-Black Movement (Sinimusta Liike) in Finland and National Party – Greeks (EKE) in Greece (10, 11).

The second trend is the Jewish and pro-Israel far right. This trend seems to be particularly strong within the American-Israeli alliance. I will write more about the developments in the American-Israeli alliance separately, but USA and Israel have also been operating actively with the far right in Europe. Professor Cas Mudde wrote in 2021 that there are “at least four major strands of far-right international networks” in which the American conservative movement, including the Republican Party, participates. The first far-right strand is the global Christian right. The second strand is the “national conservativism” movement that was developed by Israeli think-tanker Yoram Hazony. The third strand is the long-standing connection between some Republicans and European far-right parties – this connection is built on “a shared ideological core of nativism, authoritarianism and populism.” The fourth strand is the conservative far-right network in the Spanish-speaking world that has been built by Spanish far-right party Vox. (12) Some American far-right projects in Europe haven’t gone according to plan. Steve Bannon, ex-adviser of former president Trump, tried to bring the European far-right parties to his anti-EU organization The Movement, but he failed. Bannon also failed to establish “academy for the Judeo-Christian West” that was supposed to train right-wing “gladiators” in Italy. (13, 14)

Jewish far right found common ground with the wider Western far right when the Islamophobic counterjihad movement became stronger over 20 years ago. Many key persons in the counterjihad movement have been Jewish, for example American far-right writers Pamela Geller and David Horowitz as well as neoconservative Daniel Pipes and Austrian-Israeli Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld. Egyptian-born Jewish writer Gisèle Littman alias Bat Ye’or started to use the term “Eurabia” and created Islamophobic conspiracy theory that inspired numerous members of the counterjihad movement and other far right, including Anders Breivik who killed over 70 people in Norway in 2011. Some prominent members of the counterjihad movement have also been ardent friends of Israel, for example American far-right blogger Kenneth Sikorski who wrote his blog Tundra Tabloids in Finland and Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders whose Party for Freedom PVV has had quite strong support in the Netherlands. (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)

Some Jewish politicians have joined European far-right parties. When The Times of Israel interviewed some of them in 2017, two of their unifying traits were their anti-Muslim attitude and support for Israel. French far-right party National Rally has attracted some politicians who have Jewish roots, for example Louis Aliot and David Rachline, who are currently vice presidents of the party, and Michel Tooris who was interviewed by The Times of Israel. (20, 21) In December 2021, French Jewish far-right media personality and presidential candidate Eric Zemmour decided to establish his own far-right party Reconquest. Reuters reported that the name of the party “evokes the historic period known as the Reconquista, when Christian forces drove Muslim rulers from the Iberian peninsula.” (22) Incidentally, Santiago Abascal, leader of the Spanish far-right party Vox, has used the term “Reconquista” in his political campaigns (23). During the French presidential elections last year, 53% of the voters based in Israel, who were eligible to vote in those elections and voted, voted for Zemmour (24, 25). André Ventura, who is dubbed the “Zemmour” of the Portuguese politics, is the leader of the new far-right party Chega that has gained popularity quite quickly. Ventura announced a little while ago that Chega will organize “far-right world summit” in Portugal next month. (26, 27, 28)

Israel and particularly Benjamin Netanyahu and his party Likud have been developing cooperation with European far-right parties a long time. Likud has invited several European far-right leaders to Israel. One reason for this has been their common opposition of Islamism. Israel has also looked for allies against any criticism against Israel in the European Union. Last month, Israeli foreign minister Cohen asked his Italian counterpart “to work to prevent European involvement in Israel’s domestic matters and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” after the foreign policy chief of the European Union had criticized Israel’s actions. (29, 30) New Israeli far-right coalition government has also sought advice from the Polish government regarding their judicial overhaul (31). Italian far-right government and Israel agreed to deepen their strategic and other cooperation, last month (32). There have also been strong supporters of Israel in the Spanish far-right party Vox. The strategist of Vox, Rafael Bardají, who has also been called “Darth Vader” of the party, has been one of the leading neoconservatives in Spain and long-time supporter of Israel. Last November, Bardají criticized President Biden and American “wokeism” and he believed that Netanyahu would be better and stronger Western leader. (33, 34, 35, 36)

References:

1) “Finland’s centre-right party claims win amid tight election” Euronews 3.4.2023

https://www.euronews.com/2023/04/02/finlands-national-coalition-party-set-to-win-election-public-broadcaster-says

2) “What the recent wins for far-right parties in Europe could mean for the region” NPR 1.10.2022

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/01/1126419403/what-the-recent-wins-for-far-right-parties-in-europe-could-mean-for-the-region

3) The first Finns Party in the Finnish coalition government 2015-2017 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipilä_Cabinet

4) Politico’s Poll of Polls: https://www.politico.eu/europe-poll-of-polls/

5) PolitPro: https://politpro.eu/en

6) Europe Elects: https://europeelects.eu/european-union/

7) “The game is not over: Fidesz, Law and Justice, and far-right cooperation in the EU” European Council on Foreign Relations 27.5.2022

https://ecfr.eu/article/the-game-is-not-over-fidesz-law-and-justice-and-far-right-cooperation-in-the-eu/

8) “UN chief says ‘biggest terror threat’ is white supremacy in West” Middle East Eye 20.12.2022

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-chief-says-white-supremacy-west-biggest-terror-threat

9) “Far-right AfD chief Jörg Meuthen quits party” EURACTIV 28.1.2022

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/far-right-afd-chief-jorg-meuthen-quits-party-amid-ideological-differences/

10) “Openly fascist and racist party has set its sights on parliamentary elections” Helsinki Times 15.12.2022

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/22679-openly-fascist-and-racist-party-has-set-its-sights-on-parliamentary-elections.html

11) “Greek neo-Nazis seek ‘loopholes’ to run in elections” EURACTIV 6.4.2023

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/greek-neo-nazis-seek-loopholes-to-run-in-elections/

12) “Surprised to see US Republicans cozying up to the European far right? Don’t be” The Guardian 15.10.2021

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/15/us-republicans-european-far-right

13) “Steve Bannon’s effort to export his fiery popularism to Europe is failing” Reuters 2.9.2020

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-bannon-europe-idUSKBN25T1NZ

14) “Steve Bannon’s right-wing ‘gladiator school’ booted from Italian monastery” Business Insider 8.9.2021

https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-right-wing-gladiator-school-booted-from-italian-monastery-2021-9?r=US&IR=T

15) Counterjihad in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-jihad

16) Counterjihad in Powerbase: https://powerbase.info/index.php/Counterjihad_movement

17) “The myth of Eurabia: how a far-right conspiracy theory went mainstream” The Guardian 16.8.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/16/the-myth-of-eurabia-how-a-far-right-conspiracy-theory-went-mainstream

18) “Controversy at London seminar on antisemitism” Islamophobia Watch 6.12.2012

https://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/controversy-at-london-seminar-on-antisemitism/

19) “Europe’s Most Provocative Far-right Politician Is Looking to Israel for Answers” Haaretz 11.12.2020

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-12-11/ty-article/.premium/europes-most-provocative-far-right-politician-is-looking-to-israel-for-answers/0000017f-db13-df0f-a17f-df536e920000

20) “Why these 5 European Jews are promoting far-right parties” The Times of Israel 31.3.2017

https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-these-5-european-jews-are-promoting-far-right-parties/

21) National Rally in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rally

22) “Far-right French presidential hopeful promises ‘reconquest’ at rally” Reuters 6.12.2021

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/far-right-french-presidential-hopeful-promises-reconquest-rally-2021-12-05/

23) “El “patinazo” histórico de Vox: Abascal presume de liderar la Reconquista con un casco de otra época” El Español 7.3.2019

https://www.elespanol.com/cultura/20190307/patinazo-historico-vox-abascal-presume-liderar-reconquista/381462690_0.html

24) “L’abstention et Eric Zemmour, gagnants du premier tour parmi les Français d’Israël” The Times of Israel 13.4.2022

https://fr.timesofisrael.com/labstention-et-eric-zemmour-gagnants-du-premier-tour-parmi-les-francais-disrael/

25) “Over half of French voters in Israel pick far-right Zemmour for president” The New Arab 12.4.2022

https://www.newarab.com/news/over-half-french-voters-israel-pick-far-right-zemmour

26) “Portugal’s abrasive far-right leader tipped for surprise poll gain” Yahoo! News 28.1.2022

https://www.yahoo.com/now/portugals-abrasive-far-leader-tipped-070605617.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmZpLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADh7CZBWwvRE7hsvEEmfv_bLreCvId8ncuTI9vk1MxjcOsI9sFqAv5rf29LF1bvWc6QcX30R8kYmE6tR5syZ5qcRMPLdzDMnf-Mt12AB8b8mt8djdwW3S0ujNmw6tRkFWi33z49EtkBZV1cVp7Fn8kxim7v_x2hGPieHyCxPuQWN

27) “Portugal : les raisons de la percée d’André Ventura, le Zemmour portugais” L’Express 1.2.2022

https://www.lexpress.fr/monde/europe/portugal-les-raisons-de-la-percee-d-andre-ventura-le-zemmour-portugais_2167203.html

28) “Portugal party Chega sets far-right world summit with Brazil’s Bolsonaro, Italy’s Salvini” Yahoo! News 7.4.2023

https://sports.yahoo.com/portugal-party-chega-sets-far-194017141.html

29) “Netanyahu’s flirtation with the far right” Le Monde Diplomatique 12.10.2018

https://mondediplo.com/outsidein/netanyahu-s-flirtation-with-the-far-right

30) “FM Cohen accuses EU foreign policy chief of equating Israeli terror victims with terrorists” The Times of Israel 14.3.2023

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/fm-cohen-accuses-eu-foreign-policy-chief-of-equating-israeli-terror-victims-with-terrorists/

31) “Polish deputy FM: Israel consulted with us on overhauling judiciary” The Times of Israel 27.3.2023

https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-deputy-fm-israel-consulted-with-us-on-overhauling-judiciary/

32) “Foreign policy and defence: Italy and Israel deepen strategic ties” Decode 39 13.3.2023

https://decode39.com/6126/foreign-policy-defence-italy-israel-strategic-ties/

33) “Bannon sets his eyes on Spain” European Council on Foreign Relations 24.10.2018

https://ecfr.eu/article/commentary_bannon_sets_his_eyes_on_spain/

34) Information about Rafael Bardají: https://octavianreport.com/contributor/rafael-bardaji/

35) “El ‘Darth Vader’ de Vox se queda sin sitio en el nuevo equipo de Abascal” El Plural 23.2.2020

https://www.elplural.com/politica/espana/darth-vader-vox-queda-sitio-equipo-abascal_233825102

36) “Israel: The Last Option for the West” Middle East Forum 3.11.2022

https://www.meforum.org/63771/israel-the-last-option-for-the-west

Far-right Reichsbürger movement in Germany

German far-right Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement has made headlines during recent months. In December last year, German police raided several places across the country and arrested over 20 people, who were planning to overthrow the government and violently storm the German parliament building Reichstag. Couple of members of the plot were arrested in Austria and Italy. The arrested people had strong links to the Reichsbürger movement and the QAnon conspiracy theories. One arrested person was a former MP for the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). (1) In January this year, five Germans were charged with treason over an another alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German government. The beliefs of the group were very similar to the Reichsbürger movement. (2) Last week, a German police officer was shot and wounded during raids in an operation that was related to investigations regarding the Reichsbürger movement (3).

The Reichsbürger movement consists of small groups and individuals who live in different parts of Germany. Members of the movement support various beliefs, for example that modern Germany is not a sovereign state and should therefore not be considered to be a legitimate form of government. Some supporters of the movement believe that the German Empire of 1871 still exists, some others want to bring back Hitler’s Third Reich. Many members of the movement support right-wing, populist, antisemitic and Nazi ideologies. According to German government data, there are about 23,000 members in the Reichsbürger movement and 1,250 of those are part of the right-wing extremist scene. Around 400 members of the movement own weapons and around 2,300 members are considered to be prone to violence. It is also concerning that a significant number of the movement’s members are thought to be current or former soldiers who are highly trained and some of them legally possess firearms. (4)

German journalist Tobias Ginsburg, who has reported on Germany’s far-right scene, considers the Reichsbürger movement to be “extremely dangerous” and he is worried that the movement’s ideology can spread. He also pointed out that you can find similar thinking in the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party. (4) Jörg Meuthen, who was longest-serving leader of the AfD, left the party last year because according to him the party is becoming too far-right. He said, “The heart of the party today beats very far to the right, and at an elevated rate. I do see quite totalitarian echoes here.” (5) German terrorism experts have warned that a combination of the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Europe’s energy crisis has made the situation in the country more worrisome. After the members of the far-right coup plot were arrested, last year, professor Peter Neumann estimated, “We’re going to see more events like this. A well-connected swamp has emerged from the protests against the coronavirus pandemic policies and now this scene has been radicalized.” (6)

References:

1) “German police raids target group accused of far-right plot to overthrow state” The Guardian 7.12.2022

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/07/german-police-raids-target-far-right-reich-citizens-movement

2) “Five charged over second alleged far-right plot against German government” The Guardian 23.1.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/23/five-charged-over-second-far-right-plot-to-overthrow-german-government

3) “German officer shot during raids targeting Reichsbürger movement” The Guardian 22.3.2023

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/22/germany-police-officer-shot-raids-reichsburger-movement

4) “The far out, far-right plot that Germany is still trying to unravel” CNN 25.3.2023

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/25/europe/germany-reichsbuerger-movement-explainer-intl/index.html

5) “Far-right AfD chief Jörg Meuthen quits party” EURACTIV 28.1.2022

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/far-right-afd-chief-jorg-meuthen-quits-party-amid-ideological-differences/

6) “Germans on the verge of a nervous breakdown” Politico 8.12.2022

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-republic-monarchy-rechsburger-michael-gotschenberg-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdow/

Warning of Neo-Nazi “Day of Hate” in USA

As a chilling sign of our times, law enforcement in USA has warned about a potential national “Day of Hate” today. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have reportedly been asking followers to engage in vandalism and to spread antisemitic propaganda in USA.

Read the full story on Yahoo!News:

https://news.yahoo.com/law-enforcement-jewish-groups-warn-213918248.html

After Auschwitz

Curiously enough, many important and dramatic events this week have something to do with the American-Israeli alliance.

Jerusalem hosted its largest-ever political gathering during the World Holocaust Forum before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday (1, 2, 3). It is important to remember what kind of horrors the all-engulfing hatred led to during the 1930s and later on. I haven’t visited Auschwitz, but I visited former Dachau concentration camp near Munich in November 2008 and that somber memory will stay with me the rest of my life.

We see again the rise of right-wing populism and extremism. Antisemitism has increased in many countries. However, just like during the 1930s, also many other ethnic, religious and other groups are targeted.

The OSCE ODIHR hate crimes data gives some idea of the nature and amount of hate crimes in various countries. Here are just some examples of the hate crimes statistics from year 2018 (4):

On the left hand side of the table you can see in brackets the total amount of hate crimes recorded by police in each country.

The hate crimes statistics don’t necessarily give the whole picture of the situation. For example, a large survey conducted by Citizens UK, a British umbrella organisation of faith and community groups, suggested that the huge amount of hate crimes in 2018 was just a tip of the iceberg (5). Famous political scientist Cas Mudde pointed out in 2018 that even though victims have reported hate crimes in USA, many law enforcement agencies haven’t necessarily classified them as hate crimes. Almost one in five law enforcement agencies didn’t submit any hate crime reports during years 2009-2014. The National Crime Victimization survey suggested that there may have been as many as 250 000 annual hate crimes in USA during years 2004-2015. (6, 7)

References:

1) “Jerusalem hosts largest-ever political gathering for Holocaust forum” The Guardian 22.1.2020

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/22/jerusalem-hosts-largest-ever-political-gathering-for-holocaust-forum

2) “World leaders gather for Holocaust commemoration, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz” NBC News 23.1.2020

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-leaders-gather-holocaust-commemoration-75-years-after-auschwitz-n1121051

3) UNESCO – International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2020

https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/holocaustremembranceday

4) OSCE ODIHR Hate Crime Data 2018

https://hatecrime.osce.org

5) “Hate crimes double in five years in England and Wales” The Guardian 15.10.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/oct/15/hate-crimes-double-england-wales

6) “Hate crimes are as American as apple pie” The Guardian 27.12.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/27/hate-crimes-america-cas-mudde

7) “Hate Crime Victimization, 2004-2015” Bureau of Justice Statistics June 2017

https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/hcv0415_sum.pdf

According to Melanie Phillips, Islamophobia is a bogus label

British newspaper The Jewish Chronicle has published a highly controversial article written by right-wing journalist Melanie Phillips. According to Phillips, “The taunt of Islamophobia is used to silence any criticism of the Islamic world, including Islamic extremism.” (1) The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that the publication of the article was an error (2):

“Anti-Muslim prejudice is very real and it is on the rise. Our community must stand as allies to all facing racism.”

References:

1) “Don’t fall for bogus claims of ‘Islamophobia'” The Jewish Chronicle 16.12.2019

https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/don-t-fall-for-bogus-claims-of-islamophobia-1.494367

2) “‘Islamophobia a bogus label’: Jewish Chronicle under fire over article” The Guardian 17.12.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/dec/17/islamophobia-a-bogus-label-jewish-chronicle-under-fire-over-story

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns of rising intolerance during visit to Auschwitz

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of the rising intolerance during her visit to former Auschwitz concentration camp.

Read the full story on Politico:

https://www.politico.eu/article/merkel-warns-of-rising-intolerance-historical-revisionism-on-auschwitz-visit/

Madonna and the bias of some American artists

Popstar Madonna caused controversy by performing in the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel last weekend. She was reportedly paid one million dollars by Canadian-Israeli businessman Sylvan Adams. Madonna defended her decision to perform in her statement:

“I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be.” (1)

According to Sylvan Adams, it was easy to choose Madonna to be the star attraction of the event. Madonna “has expressed an affinity with the country and with Judaism via her Hebrew name Esther and her interest in Kabbalah.” Adams said:

“She’s a genuine friend of Israel, and she knows firsthand what our detractors – the lunatics from the BDS world – say is not true. She’s well aware about Eurovision and was keen to give it a boost.” (2)

Madonna is by no means the only American cultural figure or artist who has shown very unfortunate bias when it comes to Israel and Palestine. Last year, Pharrell Williams demanded that President Trump should stop playing his music at political rallies. The demand was completely justified, particularly because Williams’s song “Happy” was played at a Trump rally just hours after the horrible mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. (3) However, soon after that Williams performed his song “Happy” in the annual fundraising gala for Israel Defence Forces IDF in Los Angeles. Other celebrity guests included Ashton Kutcher, Andy Garcia and Gerard Butler. (4, 5)

References:

1) “Israel brushes off Eurovision boycott calls with a big assist from Madonna” The Washington Post 17.5.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-brushes-off-eurovision-boycott-calls-with-a-big-assist-from-madonna/2019/05/16/cea3cb82-6c24-11e9-bbe7-1c798fb80536_story.html?utm_term=.283a566c89bf

2) “Sylvan Adams – The entrepreneur who’s bringing Madonna to Eurovision” The Jerusalem Post 13.5.2019

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sylvan-Adams-The-entrepreneur-bringing-Madonna-to-Eurovision-and-more-589537

3) “Pharrell Williams demands Donald Trump stop playing his music at rallies” The Guardian 30.10.2018

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/30/pharrell-williams-donald-trump-happy-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting

4) “Pharrell Williams criticised for singing ‘Happy’ to Israeli soldiers as part of army fundraiser” The National 12.11.2018

https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/pharrell-williams-criticised-for-singing-happy-to-israeli-soldiers-as-part-of-army-fundraiser-1.790860

5) “Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Gala Raises Record $60 Million for Soldiers” Variety 2.11.2018

https://variety.com/2018/scene/news/friends-of-the-israel-defense-forces-gala-pharrell-williams-1203018108/

More bad news for Britain

As Brexit is getting closer, political disintegration seems to continue in Britain. Jeremy Hosking, a multimillionaire financier, has registered a new party Brexit Express in order to support “hard Brexit” – the move increases the risk that the Conservative Party may split (1). Today seven MPs resigned from the Labour Party. According to them, the British politics is “broken” and the Labour Party has been taken over by “hard left.” They also criticized the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, as well as “antisemitism” and “racism” in the party. (2) One of the defectors, Luciana Berger, accused Labour Party of “institutional antisemitism” (3). Another defector, Angela Smith, caused a racism row by saying that members of ethnic minorities are of a “funny tinge” (4).

The British organization Hope not Hate published their annual “State of Hate Report.” According to the report, “Britain is increasingly divided and that is likely to increase” whatever happens with Brexit. There is also a growing risk of far right terrorism and increasing support for far right. The report also states that “anti-Muslim prejudice has replaced immigration as the key driver of far right growth”, but also attitudes towards immigration “are deteriorating.” The report also pays attention to the antisemitism problem in the Labour Party. On the other hand, Islamophobia seems to have become a significant problem in the Conservative Party. According to the report, “49% of 2017 Conservative voters think that Islam is incompatible to the British way of life and 47% think there are no go areas in Britain where sharia law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter.” (5)

References:

1) “No-dealers dig in for a fresh battle amid fears of Tory split” The Guardian 17.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/17/no-deal-brexiters-tory-split-conservative-multimillionaire-donor-new-party

2) “In their own words: why seven MPs are quitting Labour” The Guardian 18.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/18/in-their-own-words-why-seven-mps-are-quitting-labour-independent-group

3) “MP says UK Labour is ‘institutionally anti-Semitic’ as 7 lawmakers quit party” The Times of Israel 18.2.2019

https://www.timesofisrael.com/mp-says-uks-labour-institutionally-anti-semitic-as-7-lawmakers-quit-party/

4) “Britain’s newest political group isn’t even a day old. It’s already been accused of racism” The Washington Post 18.2.2019

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/02/18/britains-newest-political-group-isnt-even-day-old-its-already-accused-racism/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4b46f4e89b8d

5) “State of Hate Report 2019” – Hope not Hate 17.2.2019

https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/research/state-of-hate-report-2019/

Israel’s cooperation with European right-wing populists and far right

The Guardian reported today that antisemitism has been rising sharply in Europe. According to French historian Marc Knobel, during the past two decades the amount of antisemitic attacks has risen whenever there have been tensions in the Middle East. He said that “rather than attacking Israelis, people went for Jews.” Frédéric Potier of the French government’s anti-racism and antisemitism body Dilcrah said that more traditional forms of antisemitism are also starting to re-emerge and it is due to “the resurgence of a virulent, far-right identity politics.” (1)

However, Israel has also been building cooperation with European right-wing populists and far right for years. Nick Cohen reported in the British newspaper The Jewish Chronicle in 2011 that Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, talked 20 minutes with Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right party the National Front (now the National Rally). Later on Prosor claimed that he hadn’t realized who he talked to. According to Cohen, no one in France or Israel believed the official explanation. Cohen continued:

“…it is safe to assume that elements within the Israeli right are toying with the idea of doing business with elements within the European far right. They reason that, because fascistic or ultra-nationalist movements have turned their hatred from Jews to Muslims, they are now partners they can embrace.” (2)

Danny Shek, Israel’s former ambassador to France, said in 2012:

“What worries me as a Jew and as an Israeli is that more and more Jews find her (i.e. Marine Le Pen) appealing. There is a growing popularity for the primitive formula, ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’.” (3)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has had close relationship with Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban in spite of Orban’s aggressive political campaign against Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and in spite of the fact that Orban has also praised Miklos Horthy who was ruler of Hungary and Nazi collaborator during World War II. When Orban visited Israel last summer, Netanyahu called him “true friend of Israel.” (4, 5)

Even though Israel does not officially accept right-wing extremists as guests, Netanyahu’s Likud Party has received several European far-right visitors. For example, Italy’s post-fascist leader Gianfranco Fini visited Israel at the beginning of 2000s. Matteo Salvini, current Italian Interior Minister and federal secretary of the far-right party Northern League, visited Israel in 2016. (4) Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party FPÖ and current Vice-Chancellor of Austria, has visited Israel several times during recent years (6, 7).

Human rights groups have protested against sale of Israeli weapons to Ukrainian neo-Nazi militia Azov Battalion. Israel has also expressed strong support for Germany’s far-right party Alternative for Germany AfD. (4) Rafi Eitan, former Israeli minister and Mossad spymaster, sent a video message to AfD:

“We all in Israel appreciate your attitude towards Judaism… I’m sure that if you work wisely, strongly and, most important, realistically … that instead of ‘Alternative for Germany,’ you might become an alternative for all of Europe.”

According to Israeli media reports, Eitan also wrote in German a message on his personal Facebook page:

“…the Muslim world and its culture are very different from those of the West. Anywhere there are Muslims today, in any European country, one can expect violence and terror because of these differences.” (8)

Ramzy Baroud and Romana Rubeo believed in their article last year that Israel has been operating with European right-wing populists and far-right leaders in order to find ways to pressure Europe and the European Union, because European countries have criticized Israel’s actions against Palestinians and, more recently, Israel’s decision to accept the Nation State Law. Baroud and Rubeo wrote:

“The Israeli government seems intent on weakening Europe by investing in existing divisions and offering political validation to groups that, until recently, were on the political fringes.

It hopes that a divided Europe will be more easily controlled and coaxed back into Israel’s loyalty camp.

It remains to be seen whether Israel’s embrace of far-right, neo-Nazi and fascist Europe will pay off, the way its government hopes for, or whether it would backfire…” (4)