ALL ISRAEL NEWS, co-founder and editor-in-chief of which is political analyst and author, Joel Rosenberg, is a web-based news service that covers news and events impacting Israel & the Middle East for the Evangelical world, according to its website. The following article, published on its Russian-language page on March 20, 2025, reported the controversy created by the decision of Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Issues to invite to Jerusalem European right-wing parties, such as the French National Union party, the Spanish Vox and the Swedish Democrats of Sweden, to a conference on antisemitism. This precipitated the withdrawal of several well-known European Jewish activists, who refused to cooperate with such parties, which they are striving to keep out of the mainstream political discourse in Europe. They contend that the ‘radical’ parties do not really support Israel. On the other hand, the Israeli minister argues that Israelis, whose political views are driven by the left-leaning media, need to broaden their view of prospective supporters of the State of Israel. The main threat for Jews living in Europe are not right-leaning political parties, but rather, radical Islam.

The article, as written by the All Israel News staff, follows [translated from Russian by LOC]:

Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Issues, Amichai Chikli, responded to a flurry of criticism and refusals of participation in an upcoming conference in Jerusalem on antisemitism because of the invitation of European leaders of the right.

“I reject the assertion that it is exactly parties of the right that represent the main threat for Jewish life in Europe,” states Chikli in an interview for the publication Israel Today.

The majority of the highly-placed European guests cancelled their participation in the conference, having recognized that several politicians of the right would be participating in it.

The invitation of two French politicians caused the greatest outrage: Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Union party, founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been condemned for denying the Holocaust, and his niece, Marion Marechal, a European Parliament deputy.

Chikli noted that Bardella “demanded from the EU an explanation concerning the UNRWA’s connections with HAMAS and has spoken against the creation of a Palestinian state after October 7. He and Marine Le Pen have denounced the orders for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant, handed down by the ICC [International Criminal Court]. But Marine Le Pen has altogether excluded her father from the party; after all, he really hated Israel.”

Representatives of a series of other right-wing parties, such as the Spanish Vox and the Swedish Democrats of Sweden, will take part in the conference as well.

Among well-known activists, who have already refused to participate – French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, who was to have given an opening address; Germany’s Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism, Felix Klein; president of the German-Israel Society, Volker Beck; chief rabbi of Great Britain, Efraim Mirvis; and, head of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt.

Chikli is actively striving to establish connections with European parties of the right that are gathering popularity, many of which openly support Israel, but ignore local Jewish communities – and earlier ignored Israel as well.

The Diaspora Minister confirms that these parties, though he may not be ready to cooperate with all of them, do not present the main threat for the Jews of Europe. “The threat is something else: radical Islam. Advocates of political correctness are afraid to acknowledge this and are stuck in the past, 50 years ago,” he told Israel Today.

He added that anyone who supports the state of Israel must be welcomed.

“How can we boycott people who arrive in Israel for a conference against antisemitism? All these who boycott delegitimize those who support us the most. This is a terrible injustice.” 

“Nor is there a unified opinion among the Jews of the Diaspora. There is the CRIF (Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (CRIF) (English: Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions), but there are also others. I do not pretend to have the right to speak for all the Jews of the Diaspora and do not accept the idea that they are a single progressive bloc speaking out against Trump and Bardella,” Chikli said. The alienation between Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora, in his words, is explained to a large degree by the fact that the latter are under the influence of leftist views, which are dominating in their countries, and influences their relationship to the parties of the right.

Chikli underscored that similar parties, although some of them may have an extreme right or even a Nazi past, must be evaluated according to their current actions and statements.

“In Europe we are fighting so that radical parties do not penetrate the mainstream, but in Israel, they invite them, mistakenly considering that they support Israel. This isn’t so,” stated Ariel Muzicant (73 years old), president of the European Jewish Congress and vice-president of the World Jewish Congress.

“I simply think that the State of Israel needs to look broader and take into consideration the interests of the Jewish communities along with their own. In my view, the most serious threat for the Jewish communities of Europe is radical Islam,” Chikli noted.

“It wasn’t the Dutch that beat up the Maccabi Tel Aviv (Soccer Club) fans nor was it the French who raped the Jewish girl in woods outside Paris; these were Muslim migrants who, at the same time, support HAMAS and the Palestinians.”

“The overwhelming majority of violent actions in the world are committed by Islamists, but the leadership in Europe is very weak, which puts not only the future of Europe under threat, but also its Jewish communities,” stressed the minister.

At the same time, he indicated that traditional, mainstream parties showed themselves weak in questions of support of Israel.

“If looking at Emmanuel Macron from an Israeli perspective, it is a huge disappointment. He is a very weak leader, and I do not see in him a real head (of state.) On the question of the International Criminal Court, he did not say a word, as also concerning the UNRWA. When we begin military actions, he criticizes us,” Chikli said.

In conclusion, he expressed confidence that Israeli social opinion will change after Israelis become acquainted with these leaders.

“Concerning Bardella, who caused such a storm, I am certain: after a visit to Israel, our citizens will see his love for the country and will understand that, as in the case with [Xavier] Milei, [Geert] Wilders, or [Donald] Trump, conversations about the “extreme right” are empty horror stories.”