Redux: The Israeli Alliance W/ Euro Far-right

European skinheads for Israel.

Zionists have always played antisemitism opportunistically and with sole focus on the Zionist credentials of the individual. It has now become an old joke that critics of Israel and supporters of the Palestinians are decried as “anti-Semites” by pro-Israel forces. When well-known writer and blogger Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic was denounced as such by the fiercely pro-Israel New Republic (which looks high and low for any inference of anti-Jewish prejudice all the while hosting as editor and owner a wanton anti-Arab, anti-Muslim bigot Marty Peretz) Sullivan was able to craftily dismiss the charge which held no sway.

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But beyond this gutter tactic to silence dissent from pro-Israel dogmas, real antisemitism is often conveniently ignored or excused when it is voiced by people deemed pro-Israel. So the contention is not whether one harbors animosity against Jews, but their views on Israel. Thus the American Christian Right, many of whom are antisemitic, are warmly welcomed by Israel and its domestic Israel lobby solely because the former adhere to Christian Zionism.

Or consider the case of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who was recently revealed, in a declassified Nixon White House tape, to state that if hundreds of thousands of Jews were gassed by the Soviets it was no concern of the United States.

Such a callous and egregious statement is made more sickening considering that Kissinger is himself Jewish and suffered antisemitism growing up. But in an op-ed titled “A Defense of Kissinger, from Prominent Jews” published in the New York Times, three past presidents of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations write, “Just several weeks before this conversation, Mr. Kissinger and Nixon agreed to provide Israel with 100 advanced aircraft and to remove Israeli issues from the State Department to the White House, something strongly sought by Golda Meir, who was then prime minister. ... Mr. Kissinger consistently played a constructive role vis-à-vis Israel both as national security adviser and secretary of state, especially when the United States extended dramatic assistance to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel’s very existence was at stake. ...

The critics of Mr. Kissinger should remember the context of his entire life and ask whether that judgment is fair. We think the answer is obvious.”

And would they ever contextualize such statements if they were voiced by someone who was not pro-Israel? Kissinger’s antisemitism is to be excused solely because he happened to adopt a policy favorable to Israel even though he did it on grounds of American interest.

Likewise, many of the European far-right today adopt a facsimile policy of support for Israel but not out of any love for Israel or Jews, but solely because of their animosity and prejudice against Muslims: the enemy of my enemy is friend. The European far-right is a history of anti-Jewish persecution and many of them still harbor anti-Jewish feelings, but they have taken a backseat to anti-Muslim views and the claim of being pro-Israel is a nice cloth to absolve them from anti-Jewish accusations. But it is more than that. For many European neo-fascists Israel is a sincere cause for the nation upholds their ideal image:

The pro-Israel position of the new breed of European far-rightists has to be recognized as much more than a convenient political tactic. Of course, saying you “stand with Israel,” as Wilders so often does, is an easy way to insulate yourself from charges of anti-Semitism. But the extreme right is also attracted to Israel because the country represents its highest ideals. While some critics see Israel as a racist apartheid state, people like Wilders see Israel as a racist apartheid state — and they like it. They richly enjoy when Israel mows down Arab Muslims by the dozens and tells the world to go to hell; they admire Israel’s settler culture; and most of all, they yearn to live in a land like Israel that privileges its ethnic majority above all others to the point that it systematically humiliates and dispossesses the swarthy racial outclass. The endgame of the far-right is to make Europe less tolerant and more Israeli.

And, naturally, they have been embraced by the political establishment in Israel even when such groups are still blatantly antisemitic:

“An Israeli lawmaker has met with the leader of Austria’s far right amid protests from the Jewish community. Ayoob Kara, a deputy minister and a member of Israel’s ruling Likud Party, told reporters Tuesday that he considers Heinz-Christian Strache and his Freedom Party as partners in the fight against terrorism and that there was nothing in the group’s program that “isn’t kosher.”"

Considering the international image of Israel as more and more a militant, xenophobic, ultra-nationalist and apartheid state one would think that Israeli elites would be more cannily in their associations. It is incredibly naive of the Israeli elite to think that they’ll benefit by aligning with far-right groups. Such associations with such “friends” will only further the image of a pariah Israeli state anathema to liberal values. If these are your friends...?

Such a tactic will be rued by Israel one day.

Redux: The love affair only grows more board and intimate:

Geert Wilders, whose anti-immigrant party supports the government of the Netherlands, said in a speech this month in Tel Aviv, “Jews need to settle Judea and Samaria,” using the ancient Hebrew name for the West Bank. He added, “Without Judea and Samaria, Israel cannot protect Jerusalem.”

Mr. Wilders told Reuters, “Our culture is based on Christianity, Judaism and humanism and [the Israelis] are fighting our fight.” He added, “If Jerusalem falls, Amsterdam and New York will be next.”

During his trip to Israel, Mr. Wilders also met with Israel’s most prominent settler, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, as Radio Netherlands reported.

The day after Mr. Wilders spoke in Tel Aviv, a delegation of anti-immigrant politicians from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Britain and Sweden toured West Bank settlements. Arutz Sheva, a settler news organization, observed: “Sixty-five years after the defeat of the Third Reich, a senior delegation of European right-wing politicians toured Samaria Monday in support of the Jews who live there, whom they see as a bridgehead in the struggle against a common foe — Islamic jihadism and expansionism.”

Writing in Haaretz, Adar Primor noted that some of these newly-minted supporters of Israel, like Austria’s Heinz-Christian Strache and Belgium’s Filip Dewinter, lead parties with anti-Semitic roots. Mr. Primor suggested that the anti-immigrant leaders had come to Israel “after trading in their Jewish demon-enemy for the Muslim criminal-immigrant model.” He added:

Dewinter is a leader of Vlaams Belang party, a successor to the Flemish National Movement, many of whose members collaborated with the Nazis. Among its current members are a number of Holocaust deniers. Dewinter himself moved about in anti-Semitic circles and has ties to European extremist and neo-Nazi parties. In 1988, he paid his respects to the tens of thousands of Nazi soldiers buried in Belgium, and in 2001, he opened a speech with an oath used by the SS.

The honor of lighting the torch goes to the brightest jewel in this racist crown – Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of Austria’s Freedom Party. If Jorg Haider was “Hitler’s spiritual grandson,” then Strache is his extremely illegitimate great-grandson. His grandfather was in the Waffen-SS, and his father served in the Wehrmacht. As a university student, Strache belonged to an extremist organization from which Jews were banned, hung out with neo-Nazis and participated in paramilitary exercises with them.

During their visit, Mr. Strache and Mr. Dewinter issued what they called their “Jerusalem Declaration” in support of Israel as a key ally in the struggle against “fundamentalist Islam.” (The declaration can be read in the original German on the Web site of the Austrian Freedom Party.)

As Slavoj Zizek explained in October, most of Europe’s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim political parties are based on ethnic nationalist ideals: “From France to Germany, from Austria to Holland, in the new spirit of pride in one’s cultural and historical identity, the main parties now find it acceptable to stress that immigrants are guests who have to accommodate themselves to the cultural values that define the host society — ‘it is our country, love it or leave it’ is the message.” Of course Israel was founded to be a nation state, on the European model, but there is still something odd about hearing, as one can in the Arutz Sheva video report at the top of this post, an anti-immigrant German politician declaring that Israel has a right to the West Bank because it is the land of the Jewish “volk.”

The settler spokesman David Ha’Ivri, who helped host the European delegation, told Arutz Sheva: “If these European leaders — with their ties to anti-Semitic groups and their past — come around and declare that Israel has a right to exist securely in all of the areas under our control, and that Europe has a moral responsibility because of the crimes of their past, then I believe that we should accept their friendship.” Calling their statements of support for the settlements, “the strongest possible tool in the war against anti-Semitism,” Mr. Ha’ivri added:

No skinhead cares what [Anti-Defamation League Chairman] Abe Foxman has to say, but if Filip Dewinter and Heinz-Christian Strache make these statements they will have real impact. For that reason I am considering appearing with them in their countries for pro-Israel rallies. I think that it is worth the risk of being defamed by Haaretz and the like if we can cause a shift in the European nationalist movements, moving them away from their traditional Jew-hatred and bringing them closer to appreciation of Zionism. I don’t think that I am naive to feel that this is a revolutionary opportunity.

Majalli Wahabi, an Israeli Druze politician who is a member of Israel’s Parliament and with the opposition Kadima Party, wrote in The Jerusalem Post that the embrace of Europe’s anti-Islamists worried him:

As the Knesset representative to and vice chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Committee, I see firsthand how Israel’s standing in the world is deteriorating. This is not to speak of Arab countries and some of their allies, nor of the Scandinavian countries who always took a harsh stance against us, but many in the European Union.

The situation is far worse when we see those in Europe who we call “our friends” – starting with Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician who campaigns to stop Islamization and frequently visits, and to Heinz Christian Strache, who ousted the late Jörg Haider as the Austrian Freedom Party leader and who last week came to Samaria for a solidarity visit with the settlers.

When the central leadership of Europe turns its back on Israel, we take comfort in the arms of radicals, just because they prefer at this stage to pursue Muslims rather than Jews. It’s time to stop and rethink before it is too late. We must consider if this is the society we want, if the current tone is worthy of expression and if these are the people worthy of our friendship.

Two quick notes: First, in the 1990s when Jorg Haider was made a member of the Austrian cabinet the Israeli government actually withdrew its ambassador in protest. Today his equally vociferous Nazi successor is welcomed by Jewish leaders in Israel. How times have changed and enemies forgiven.

Second, and most importantly, this opportunism will be sorely regretted by Israel. The last comment by the Druze MK is an echo of what I wrote yesterday: that if this is the image of Israel's company - the hateful neo-fascist European far-right - Israelis will come to deeply regret it. Israel already has an image problem, is being seen giving a tour to individuals with neo-Nazi ties a boost to one's P.R.? But the new militant elite in Israel is to clouded by anti-Muslim hatred and so desperate for friends that they'll embrace anyone forgetting that in the end these allies [sic] will soon ditch Israel and the Jews. They do not care for Israel and are only playing on anti-Muslim animus for the time being. Eventually, European Muslims will become integrated and public anxieties over them will be obviated by the assimilation of European Muslims. Then it will no longer be politically advantageous to attack Muslims, who will be a powerful voting constituency. Who do you think the far-right will then start to attack? Old habits die hard. So it is a Devil's Bargain to opportunistically sign on with such people. Not only will they in the end abandon you. But in the meantime they will only further the image of Israel as a militant and rogue state with illiberal ideals and that will only undermine support amongst the majority of Europeans.

The ability for Zionists to shot themselves in the foot is stunning.