In January 2000, when Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, then led by Jörg Haider, sought to join the coalition of parties to form a new government in Vienna, Israel’s reaction was clear.
“A government with Haidar in it would invite a diplomatic boycott from civilized countries,” Shimon Peres, then Minister of Regional Development, said at the time.
At the time, a young Likud member, Dani Naveh, spearheaded the petition, which was signed by 14 party leaders and called for the recall of the Israeli ambassador if the Liberal Party were to join a coalition government. Finally, Foreign Minister David Levy declared, “Israel is united on this issue. If this party joins the Austrian coalition government, there will be no room for an Israeli ambassador in Austria. This is not wordplay, bluff or threat. This is the position of the Israeli government.”
Indeed, Israel recalled its ambassador from the Austrian capital after the Freedom Party joined the coalition government in Vienna.
These were the standards 24 years ago. Today, Europe’s far-right parties, born from the roots of European fascism and anti-Semitism, have transformed themselves into Israeli governments’ “natural partners” in Europe.
The leader of the effort to improve relations with the European far-right is Amihai Chikli, the Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism. In a dramatic display of personal and political apathy, Chikli shared on his X account pictures of Jerusalem’s Supreme Imam Hajj Amin al-Husseini with Adolf Hitler, as well as with a group of European far-right leaders whose political roots lie in European Fascism and Nazism.
Who are Minister Chikli’s friends?
Sweden’s Jimmy Åkesson, France’s Marine Le Pen, Spain’s Santiago Abascal, and of course Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister and head of Europe’s far-right, are all “friends” of Minister Csikli. Today they proudly express racist views against Muslims, which are often only a temporary substitute for the anti-Semitism that preceded them and will return. Other friends include Britain’s Nigel Farage, who does not characterize himself as anti-Semitic, but has leaned into it in the past when he suggested that the “Jewish lobby” pulls the strings of American politics.
These are Minister Chikli’s new allies, new friends the Israeli government has alienated from the liberal world. Instead of working to restore its own international standing, Israel has chosen the easier and more dangerous path: cozying up to European racists who currently choose to accentuate their racism against Muslims in their own countries and temporarily hide the anti-Semitism that is an integral part of their general racism. In the process, they are taking advantage of useful fools like Chikli who feel comfortable in the company of Arab haters.
All this reflects the old alliance between the Israeli right and American evangelicals, who aim to bring about an apocalypse in which we will all either convert to Christianity or perish. Similarly, the alliance with the far right is built on shaky foundations, in this case a shared hatred of Arabs and the aim to undermine legal mechanisms to protect minorities in democracies.
This is also the rationale for Trump supporters’ support of Israel, who chant “Make America Great Again” and accuse Jews of supporting immigration to the US in order to dilute the “purity” of white Christian supremacy, in line with the anti-Semitic “Great Replacement” theory.
Turning to those who seize political power out of hatred and bigotry – many of whom are supporters and partners of Russian President Vladimir Putin – is in effect seeking support from a “broken reed” (Isaiah 36:6) and will ultimately alienate Israel from the family of democracies.
Israel should join the covenant of progress and democracy, not the covenant of hatred. We should listen to constructive criticism of our actions rather than fear it, debate it when necessary, and most importantly, restore Israel’s place among the defenders of democracy around the world, whether left, center or right, rather than seeking solace in the bosom of democracy’s enemies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2024 government has much to learn from standing against the late Foreign Minister David Levy and his ties to the far right, not only because it is the morally right stance to take, but also because he who rides the scorpion will end up being stung by the scorpion.
The author is executive director of J Street Israel and a former Israeli diplomat in Washington and Boston and political advisor to the president of Israel.
