Faced with its growing isolation on the international stage, Israel is strengthening ties with Europe's ultra-right despite the anti-Semitic legacy of some parties.
In response to criticism of the conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip, Binyamin Netanyahu's government accuses its critics of fueling hatred against Jews while adopting a very conciliatory tone with the political leaders who support it.
Following revelations by the French website Mediapart about anti-Semitic writings attributed to Jordan Bardella, president of the ultra-right National Rally party, the Israeli minister in charge of Combating Anti-Semitism came to his defense.
Bardella, considered a possible prime minister in the event of Marine Le Pen's victory in the 2027 French presidential elections, "is one of the clearest voices in Europe against Hamas," wrote Amichai Chikli on the social network X.
He recalled that the Frenchman visited the places where the October 7, 2023 attack took place, perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists and which triggered the devastating conflict in Gaza.
Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, also began the normalization of its relations in Austria with the Freedom Party (FPÖ), founded by former Nazis.
Israeli officials have also courted far-right leaders in Sweden, Spain and the United Kingdom over shared concerns about Islam and immigration.
The Israeli government also made an important shift in its diplomatic stance in Latin America after the election of pro-Israel radical right leaders in Argentina and Colombia.
Only the German far right and its AfD party remain, for now, on the sidelines of this strategic change.
According to Jeremy Issacharoff, Israel's ambassador to Berlin from 2017 to 2022, ultra-right European parties are trying to obtain "a kind of kosher certificate" — a Hebrew term used for foods considered "fit" according to Jewish law — and thus distance themselves from their anti-Semitic past, which continues to be a toxic legacy in the eyes of moderate voters.
"I completely understand the benefit they can derive from this. But for Israel, I see nothing more than an attack on its values and its reputation on the international stage," Issacharoff added to the AFP news agency.
In his opinion, Israel should first assess the impact of this support on the Jewish communities in the countries in question, especially in France and Austria.
In the United Kingdom, some Jewish leaders were dismayed by far-right activist Tommy Robinson's visit to Jerusalem, where his anti-Islamic views were applauded.
Israeli officials have also used increasingly less diplomatic language toward Western leaders who criticize the country.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar recently asked the leader of the ultra-right British party Reform UK to express his opposition to the sanctions imposed by the Labor government on products imported from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Some ministers also made derogatory comments about British Chancellor Ed Miliband, the son of Jewish refugees and a supporter of sanctions.
According to Azriel Bermant, associate researcher at the Prague Institute of International Relations, Netanyahu's rapprochement with the ultra-right also aims to prevent the formation of a European consensus against his country.
He cites as an example the ties established between Netanyahu and former Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, until the latter's electoral defeat in April.
For years, Hungary's former prime minister staunchly supported Israel and blocked European Union measures against Tel Aviv while repeatedly resorting to anti-Semitic stereotypes against American tycoon and philanthropist George Soros, born into a Hungarian Jewish family.
The researcher expects Israel's stance to change if Netanyahu's coalition loses the legislative elections on October 27.
While it is true that his opponents are unlikely to break ties with figures like Marine Le Pen, who could come to power, they will not associate Israel with the ultra-right, he assessed.
In an interview with AFP, a former Israeli ambassador to Europe stated that the Jewish State should demonstrate more pragmatism and moderation in the face of controversial figures.
"One day, these governments will switch from right to left again, or vice versa. And, if you side with the ultra-right, you end up being labeled in a certain way," he warned, on condition of anonymity.
