The Israeli government had failed to coordinate with Jewish communities about the invitation of controversial right-wing European political leaders to Thursday’s International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, Diaspora Jewish leaders charged at the Knesset Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs hearing on Sunday morning. However, the Diaspora Ministry argued that it had invited representatives from across the political spectrum and had operated according to the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic relations parameters.
The hearing on the impact of the government’s policies on Diaspora communities, organized by committee chairman MK Gilad Kariv in the wake of a wave of conference cancellations by major Diaspora figures and organizations, saw European Jewish Congress President Dr. Ariel Muzicant relate that European communities were “extremely frustrated by [Diaspora] Minister [Amichai] Chikli and what he is doing.”
The Diaspora Ministry was not speaking with Jewish communities, and they were, in turn, not reaching out, said Muzicant, whose organization pulled out of the conference. He expressed the belief that they may not be able to work with the current Israeli government, highlighting that a May World Jewish Congress conference would explore the topic of how “the Israel-Diaspora relationship does not work.”
“This [antisemitism] conference is stabbing Jews in the back,” said Muzicant. “You are helping our enemies, you are giving fuel to those criticizing Israel. By joining with the extreme Right, you help those who criticize Israel.”
Muzicant said that it was important for the Israeli government to coordinate with European Jewish leaders as well as the disparate communities that had particular situations. Before inviting National Rally President Jordan Bardella, the Diaspora Ministry should have consulted with the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), explained Muzicant, as the Jewish body has refused interactions with the far Left or far Right.
ANTISEMITISM WAS not the only consideration when engaging with these parties, argued Muzicant, who contended that the participants invited to the conference did not respect democratic values such as an independent judiciary and free speech.
Former Bundestag member and German-Israeli Society chairman Volker Beck, who had withdrawn from the conference last Friday, explained to the committee that Germany’s friendship with Israel was not only due to its support for Jewish self-determination but also common democratic values.
The parties that were invited did not appreciate its status as a Jewish state, said Volker, and only saw it as the enemy of its enemy, Jihadist Islam. These parties did not respect Judaism domestically, Volker warned and sought to ban ritual slaughter and circumcision.
Volker believed it was important that support for Israel’s right to defend itself be non-partisan and be held across the political spectrum.
“I was astonished to see nearly only, with some exceptions, being invited from the far Right.”
Both Muzicant and Volker warned that the controversial parties invited by Israel were oriented towards Russia. Volker emphasized that growing closer to these parties, therefore, harmed Israel’s security, as Russia was an ally of Iran, which had masterminded many of the war’s attacks against Israel.
Diaspora Ministry Director-General Avi Cohen-Scali assured that the ministry wasn’t waiting until any conference to speak to Diaspora communities and was in contact with them all the time about various programs and initiatives against antisemitism.
Ministry requested participation of politicians across the spectrum
He rejected the idea that the ministry only invited far-right governments, noting that they had requested the participation of politicians across the spectrum, including the ruling parties of the French and British governments. Many of the organizations had withdrawn not because of right-wing politicians, argued Cohen-Scali, but because of the pressure that had been created in the media.
Cohen-Scali said that the conference was not a right-wing event but a professional fair for opponents of antisemitism to explore the challenges and tools available in the fight against anti-Jewish animus.
People were invited not because of their political orientation, but because they had come out after the October 7 massacre as strong proponents of Israel, explained the director-general. Bardella was one of these figures, said Cohen-Scali, supporting Israel even in the face of public backlash.
THE CONFERENCE did not invite any member of a party which the Foreign Ministry had already established a relationship with, said Cohen-Scali. According to the Foreign Ministry Europe department head Ahuva Spieler, the ministry had a “green light” for engagement with National Rally, Sweden Democrats, and the Spanish Vox party after assessment through long-standing parameters.
The parameters assess suitability for interaction with political bodies based on their stance on the Holocaust, Nazis, and Neo-Nazis, their relations with local Jewish communities, and their position on Israel and anti-Israel movements. Since October 7, banning Hamas as a terrorist organization and condemning the attacks had been added to the parameters.
Not all of the parameters were met by different bodies all of the time, and ongoing assessments were held, giving weight to different items. Spieler noted that they had not approved relations of parties from Germany and Austria based on a file provided by the EJC.
Kariv asked about the importance placed on liberal democratic values and coordination with the Diaspora communities in the parameters, and when Spieler explained that the relations were advised to proceed with Diaspora consultation and that values were considered but not officially part of the parameters, the chairmen urged the addition of democratic values as an element of the document.
Kariv was skeptical about how interactions could be approved with political actors coming to an official government conference within three months. He demanded to know if the prime minister had intended to meet with Bardella in the wake of the fresh approval of relations.
Another French politician invited to the conference became a topic of concern when it was noted that she used to be part of Eric Zemmour’s Reconquete party, which had not yet been approved by the Foreign Ministry.
Cohen-Scali explained that Jean-Marie Le Pen’s granddaughter Marion Maréchal was invited because she was an MEP for an approved European Parliament party.
The Israeli government must take a clear stand against extremist political parties with antisemitic roots, said Kariv. He warned that “we will not accept ties with antisemitic parties – whether on the Right or the Left,” but that the Left was not on the agenda today.
Kariv pointed to the Israeli Labor Party’s past decision to sever ties with the British Labour Party during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership due to antisemitic rhetoric.
“I expect the Israeli government and the Knesset to take just as clear a stand,” he said.
Kariv accused the Diaspora Ministry of mishandling the conference, which saw the Anti-Defamation League, UK Chief Rabbi Mirvis, UK politician and antisemitism adviser Lord John Mann, and Goldsmiths University professor David Hirsh, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, and German antisemitism czar Felix Klein withdraw their participation due to the controversial guests.