Sawt Falasteen - At Jerusalem meet, Netanyahu warns of rising anti-Semitism

Guests at the symposium on combating anti-Semitism included the leader of France's far right National Rally (RN), a party whose cofounder Jean-Marie Le Pen was known for his anti-Semitic comments.

Also in attendance were a representative from Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, a Kremlin ally for whom Bosnia on Thursday issued an arrest warrant.

Analysts say the invitation of parties that have themselves been accused of anti-Semitism demonstrates the willingness of Israel's right to cultivate new relationships with unlikely supporters, amid pressure from traditional allies over the Gaza war.

In a keynote speech, Netanyahu warned that "the fate of free societies is tied to their willingness to fight the scourge of anti-Semitism".

"Eighty years ago this deadly virus destroyed a third of the Jewish people," he said.

"Now this hatred has re-emerged... through radical Islamist carriers in Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, and elsewhere.

"These anti-Semites wish to destroy not only the Jewish state. They seek to destroy the forces of modernity in the Arab and Muslim world," he added.

Addressing the crowd earlier in the day was Jordan Bardella, the president of France's RN, whose speech capped an unprecedented trip to Israel by a leader of the party.

Bardella pledged France would fight anti-Semitism "in all its forms... whether it comes from fanatical Islamists, the far left disguised as anti-Zionists, or even far-right groups and their delusional plots".

He also spoke of a "link" between what he described as "the rise of Islamism, the upsurge of anti-Semitism, and the migratory phenomenon that is fracturing all Western societies."

Member of European Parliament (MEP) Kinga Gal, representing Hungary's Fidesz party, echoed the comments linking immigration to Europe and anti-Semitism during a panel discussion.

- 'Black and White' -

Thursday's conference focuses on fighting what rights groups have described as a rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world, a priority for Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in Israel's history.

The guest list for the symposium, organised by right-wing Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, also included Bardella's fellow MEP Marion Marechal, who leads another far-right movement and is the niece of Marine Le Pen, daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Earlier in the week Dodik, president of Bosnia's Serb-dominated statelet of Republika Srpska, said on X: "The Serbs and the Jews are peoples that others have sought to annihilate," and that is "why we stand together."

He travelled abroad despite the Bosnian warrant accusing him of attacking the constitutional order. A state court said the matter was now in Interpol's hands.

"The current Israeli government sees the world in black and white," said Denis Charbit, a political scientist at the Open University of Israel.

Some in Israel feel the country is currently isolated, and needs "new friends", even if it deems them distasteful, he added.

Israeli media reported on guests who cancelled their appearances in protest of the far-right politicians' presence, including Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt and the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy.

Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and the UK government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, John Mann, have also withdrawn.

Bardella on Wednesday visited sites where Hamas militants carried out their October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.

Since Hamas's attack, the RN has sought to present itself as a bulwark against anti-Semitism.

The party was cofounded as the National Front by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died earlier this year, and who was charged and convicted in a French court for downplaying the Holocaust.

His daughter, Marine Le Pen, has moved emphatically to distance the movement from her father's legacy, renaming the party and seeking to make it more broadly electable.

When asked about his party's past during Wednesday's visit, Bardella responded: "I don't do politics in the rearview mirror."

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