In recent weeks, Israeli diplomats held several meetings with the parties in France, Spain and Sweden.

By JNS

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has held discreet talks in recent weeks with far-right parties in France, Spain and Sweden that it had previously boycotted, Walla reported on Monday, citing officials in Jerusalem.

One senior ministry official told the Hebrew outlet that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar decided to establish low-profile contacts with the National Rally in France, Spain’s Vox Party and the Swedish Democrats Party.

“We do not agree with the entire platform of these parties or with every statement made by their leaders, but we believe that we can have a dialogue with them,” the source cited by Walla’s Barak Ravid said.

The report noted that the process of establishing ties with the European far-right was initiated under former Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who was said to have ordered a review of the parties’ attitude toward Israel and alleged histories of antisemitism before leaving office in November.

Following the review’s conclusion, Sa’ar reportedly decided to rule out “at this stage” ties with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Freedom Party of Austria, which have both been rocked by antisemitism scandals.

In recent weeks, Israeli diplomats held several gatherings with the three parties in France, Spain and Sweden, Walla reported, adding that the low-profile meetings were held without any media announcements.

Sa’ar instructed diplomats to “inform the heads of Jewish organizations of the decision and coordinate with them in advance of any contacts with the three parties,” according to Ravid’s report.

An official Dec. 9 meeting between Geert Wilders—the leader of the Netherlands’ Party of Freedom, which triumphed in the November 2023 Dutch general election—and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem marked a watershed moment for relations between the European far-right and the government of the Jewish state.

Ending a government boycott that some sources in Jerusalem have said was in place since Wilders’s faction was first voted into parliament on his anti-Islam platform in 2006, the European politician, who has repeatedly stated that “Jordan is Palestine,” was also received by President Isaac Herzog, Cabinet ministers and Knesset members.

Separately, operating largely under the radar of official foreign policy channels, including those overseen by Sa’ar, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli has quietly been weaving a network of connections with European right-wing parties since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

“Chikli is conducting his own independent policy,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told Walla on Monday, claiming that the Diaspora minister “does what he wants and meets with elements who are a red flag when it comes to the official position of the Israeli government.”