Israeli foreign minister’s hand of friendship to European far-right denounced

A furious group from the Foreign Policy Forum — comprising former Israeli ambassadors and diplomats — has called on the country’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, to rescind “without delay” an instruction to serving Foreign Ministry staff to make contact with European extreme-right parties. The group says the move is “contemptible and warrants outright condemnation.”

In an outraged statement issued on Wednesday, the influential and respected group say that “legitimising these parties, [in Spain, France and Sweden] which in part were founded by neo-Nazis and include Holocaust-deniers among their ranks, is a historical mistake. The instruction comes at a time of increased antisemitism across the globe, and when the local Jewish communities are battling to ostracise them”.

The Forum members add that they “strongly caution against any prospect of initiating contacts with the AfD in Germany, especially in the light of the publicly-expressed intention of the Chancellor-designate to maintain a ‘wall of fire’ in order to prevent any political co-operation with this extreme far-right party”.

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Dialogue with these parties, the Forum warns, “will awaken deep fears both within the local Jewish communities and the wider Jewish world and it is imperative to desist from it”.

But speaking in Brussels earlier this week, Saar defended his decision. He told Jewish and pro-Israel leaders that he had instructed the ministry to “establish relations with [France’s] National Rally, the Sweden Democrats, and [Spain’s] Vox.

“The connection will be like with any other political party. After I reviewed the matter and heard the opinion of the professional level — I didn’t see a reason not to do so. The opposite.”

Saar claimed that his staff were “checking responsibly, per case, the different parties. We check their attitudes toward Israel and their support for Israel. We are also reviewing their attitudes toward antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and other such matters.”

Admitting that some of the parties had “bad roots”, the minister continued: “But we look at their deeds on the ground today. Do they denounce or ban party members with antisemitic statements? This is a substantial indication.”

He said the Foreign Ministry was also speaking to the far-right politicians about ritual issues necessary for Jewish life, like circumcision and kashrut.