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)

References:

1) “Antisemitism rising sharply across Europe, latest figures show” The Guardian 15.2.2019

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/feb/15/antisemitism-rising-sharply-across-europe-latest-figures-show

2) “Ambassador, how you spoil us” The Jewish Chronicle 23.11.2011

https://www.thejc.com/comment/columnists/ambassador-how-you-spoil-us-1.29461

3) “Marine Le Pen: Don’t French Jews get it?” The Jewish Chronicle 26.4.2012

https://www.thejc.com/news/world/marine-le-pen-don-t-french-jews-get-it-1.33041

4) “An unlikely union: Israel and the European far right” Al Jazeera 17.7.2018

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/union-israel-european-180716085952930.html

5) “Netanyahu greets Hungary’s Orban as ‘true friend of Israel’” AP News 19.7.2018

https://www.apnews.com/938bb193c0894691bf42a6457d1fae4c

6) “Far-right Austrian leader visits Israel’s Holocaust memorial” Reuters 12.4.2016

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-austria-strache/far-right-austrian-leader-visits-israels-holocaust-memorial-idUSKCN0X91NX

7) “Austrian far-right leader sympathetic to Israel on Jerusalem recognition” The Times of Israel 11.12.2017

https://www.timesofisrael.com/austrian-far-right-leader-backs-moving-embassy-to-jerusalem-in-sentiment/

8) “Ex-Israeli spymaster, who helped capture Adolf Eichmann, releases video in support of German far-right party” The Washington Post 3.2.2018

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/03/ex-israeli-spymaster-who-helped-capture-adolf-eichmann-releases-video-in-support-of-german-far-right-party/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.457cdf9d87d2