Last week, the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry were keeping close tabs on the European Parliament elections. Israel views EU institutions as hostile, but the increasing strength of the right-wing, ultra-conservative, nationalist and populist parties who do not hide their support for Israel are sparking hope of a change for the better. What's more, some are becoming the ruling parties in their respective countries.
But there's a snag: the Jewish communities see most of these parties – Fidesz in Hungary; the Freedom Party in Austria; Lega in Italy; Alternative for Germany; and National Rally (formerly the National Front) in France – as radical and anti-Semitic. Even if more Jews are voting for them, mostly out of a sense that these parties are their only allies in their existential struggle with much larger communities of Arab and Muslim immigrants, Israel is facing a sort of trap: potential diplomatic ties with these parties are risky and could bolster Israel's image as a "radical right-wing" entity, leading to a rift with European Jewry, which is fighting not only for its place but for its very existence.
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In France, Marine Le Pen has been courting Israel and trying to win recognition by Jewish institutions in France for some time now. At the start of last week, she achieved something else: for the second time in a row in EU elections, her party was the largest in France. In the previous election, it was still known as the National Front, but to detach herself from the disturbing image of its party founder – her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen – Le Pen decided last year to adopt a new name, National Rally. Her party lost steam compared to its results in 2014 (dropping from 24.8% to 23.3% of the vote), but in hindsight, picked up half a million votes. The number of young voters who supported the party increased, and it was the No. 2 choice for voters age 18-34, after the Greens.
In her victory speech, Le Pen thanked her voters for making National Rally a viable option to succeed French President Emmanuel Macron, who she said had led France into "utter confusion," referring to the yellow-vest protests. Le Pen refrained from calling on Macron to resign, but demanded a new election, "a more democratic one that would finally reflect the true opinions of our country."
Same Right in a different wrapping
In his office in the heart of Paris' Jewish community, Francis Kalifat – who is in his third year as president of Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (CRIF), the umbrella organization that represents Jewish institutions in France – refuses to be exercised over Le Pen's victory.
"What could be a concern for us, as Jews, is the animal rights parties, which doubled their numbers in France and in Germany secured two seats in the European Parliament. Concern for animal welfare doesn't contradict Jewish values. But we know that the party is campaigning against traditional slaughter – both Jewish and Muslim. For us, that's a reason to worry, because, throughout Europe, people are trying to outlaw kosher slaughter. There are countries that are trying to ban ritual circumcision. These issues raise a question about Jewish presence in Europe," Kalifat tells Israel Hayom.
The animal rights parties have the ear of several of the far-right parties, including National Rally. Jordan Bardella, spokesman for the National Rally, came out against the slaughter of animals without them being put to sleep or paralyzed, a method that does not comply with kosher practices; Le Pen has opposed circumcision as well as the wearing of any religious garb or emblems in public. She also said she would revoke double citizenship, referring specifically to some French Jews who also hold Israeli citizenship. She later said her words had been taken out of context.
"The results of the election didn't surprise me," said Kalifat. "National Rally got stronger, while the radical Left collapsed. The fact that many French see the far Right as an option to govern is definitely worrying. Before the election, CRIF published a letter in newspapers nationwide, we called on French Jews and the French as a whole not to vote for populist parties on the Right or the Left, because they put the future of the EU in doubt. The European elections also demonstrate the limitations of elections that are held in a single round of voting, on a proportional basis. We need to increase the representation of certain parties in France, while upholding the current electoral system, to ensure that there is a majority for governance."
Q: Do you still see National Rally as a radical right-wing party, or has it changed?
"The wrapping has changed, but the content is the same. The people who find a home in that party, some of them, are members of the radical Right. Not all of them [are] … but right-wing French vote for that party. For the others, it was a protest vote. … For us, the party is still a radical right-wing party with radical right-wing values and a plan for the future of Europe that does not fit with our vision, which is that the EU was built on the destruction of World War II to bring peace to the continent. We don't want the EU to fall apart, because it would resurrect the danger of war on the continent, and we know very well the price that European Jews paid in all the European wars."
Q: Do you see any difference between Marine Le Pen and her father?
"You can't say they're the same, and I don't want to make a discussion of the party personal. We don't oppose the father or the daughter, but what the party represents. Its values and ideology make it a party we must not have contact with, one that is still far-Right. We see the alliances it is preparing to make with other far-right parties in Europe. Marine Le Pen doesn't think she is far-Right. So why is she forming alliances with the most radical right-wing parties in Europe?
Q: For example, Matteo Salvini in Italy, who is considered a great friend of Israel, and says that Marine Le Pen is not anti-Semitic.
"You need to make a distinction between the foreign policy of certain parties and governments – Salvini, Viktor Orbán in Hungary, the Poles – and the problem of growing anti-Semitism in those same countries. There is a contradiction when those same parties and governments taking a pro-Israel stance but stay silent in the face of anti-Semitic incidents that take place in their countries. When the Poles refuse to pay restitution to the Jews who were robbed in Poland, which is the only country in Europe that refuses to study the issue, it's a serious problem. These countries, which support Israel, have not changed the EU's policy toward Israel, which is not the friendliest. These countries have made friendly declarations, and we take them at face value. At the same time, we cannot sit by and accept the growing anti-Semitism in those countries."
Q: Is there a rift between the Jewish communities of Europe and the Israeli government?
"No. I think that the Israeli government is well aware of the difficulty that exists when it is asked to support certain countries and the difficulties facing the Jewish communities in those countries. With Poland, there were conflicts about the issue of anti-Semitism. … We, the Jews of Europe, can't accept this duality of support for Israel and a lack of determined action against anti-Semitism or a denial of responsibility for the Holocaust, like in Poland."
Q: Do you reject all dialogue with parties like National Rally, or can dialogue take place if certain conditions are met?
"It's not my job to make conditions. I see a policy that stems from ideology which makes it fundamentally impossible for us, the Jews of France, to hold dialogue with National Rally. French Jews' mindset about the party is a contributing factor to it not being able to break the glass ceiling of 25%, and that's important to us."
Q: What do you say to Jews who vote for these parties because they think the true threat to the Jews of Europe comes from the immigrant communities, and not from the radical Right?
"We aren't facing just one threat. The Islamist threat is serious and important, and it is what kills [Jews]. But it's not only Islamism we need to fight. The fight against anti-Semitism is not something you can wage when you feel like it. There is a certain reality in Europe and in France. You need to fight all kinds of anti-Semitism. They tried to play down the Islamist threat. I think that today, things are changing, thanks to work by Jewish organizations. Today, people in France and in Europe know that this [form of] anti-Semitism has killed men, women, and children. France saw the most Jews killed – 12 since 2000. We see what's happening in Germany, with the recommendation of the czar that Jews not wear kippot in public. Seventy-four years after the Holocaust, we still feel that history is starting to repeat itself. Our responsibility is to prevent that."
Eric Zemmour, a Jewish writer and columnist, who in recent years has become a notable voice for the nationalist Right in France, presents a different view. Zemmour tells Israel Hayom that he sees no reason to fear Marine Le Pen.
"My position is not based on my being a Jew, but rather on my being a citizen of France," he stresses.
"Marine Le Pen is not the person that threatens the Jews of France. The Jews under threat in France live in neighborhoods where there is a process of Islamization. It's very simple."
Le Pen isn't anti-Semitic
Zemmour sees a difference between Le Pen and her father, who claimed that the gas chambers in the Nazi death camps were a "minor detail" of World War II: "Marine does not allow herself to make any provocative jokes or remarks. She isn't anti-Semitic."
Q: And what about her position about wearing kippot in public, circumcision, and double citizenship?
"I'm Jewish. I think that there's no reason to wear a kippa in public. I'm against any religious symbols or expression of religion in public. When I was a kid, people didn't wear kippot in public, and it didn't' make us less Jewish. We need to stop with these accusations. It's completely normal for people not to wear religious symbols in public. Jews, like others, adopted bad habits, and they don't respect France's secularity anymore. The principle of secularity in France is built on discreet religious practice."
Zemmour thinks that the Jewish community in France and Israel and both wrong in blacklisting the National Rally party.
"It's not dangerous. Anti-Semitism is prevalent in neighborhoods where Muslim immigrant communities live. It's obvious to everyone, including the Jews. In my view, there is no Jewish community, there is a national community. There are French of different religions. I think that the Israeli boycott [of National Rally] is counter-productive. The Israelis realized that. They are very close to Orbán now, who they also accuse of being anti-Semitic, and they accuse the Polish government of being anti-Semitic. I don't know whether [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu or Marine Le Pen is more right-wing."
Zemmour belies that the people of Europe are rebelling against the Islamic invasion, but he notes that "It's the start of a very long process, especially in France. It takes a long time to comprehend the reality and there is no agreement about how to resist or about terminology. It's complicated."
The goal - a pan-European struggle
Behind Kalifat's desk hang two posters: one listing the principles of the council he leads, which bears a French flag and the slogan: Let's live together. The second features an article published in the conservative daily Le Figaro, whose headline reads "I will not be silent on Sarah Halimi's torturer."
Halimi is one of the 12 French Jews who have been murdered in the past 20 years by Muslims, for the sole reason that they are Jewish. In this case, the authorities found ways of not putting the killer on trial.
"The story of European Jewry isn't over, and I'm not willing to accept that such a long history of Jews in Europe and in France will end like this. I think that we need to be more alert because we are seeing the vitality of European Jewry fading in the face of attacks from multiple fronts," Kalifat says.
"All these extremists have plans for the future that pose a threat to the Jewish presence in Europe. We are waging a daily battle. Now that we know the makeup of the new European Parliament, it's clear that those who support developing the EU are now a majority over the ones who want to destroy or put a stop to it. For us, that's very positive – even if we condemn the growth of the extremist parties. We aren't more worried now than we were before the elections. Even if there was a certain amount of movement, there won't be any major change. The fight against anti-Semitism has to be part of a pan-European plan that will address all forms of anti-Semitism: the Islamists, but also the far Right and the far Left.
"We expect Europe to take inspiration from Germany and pass a law that defines the BDS movement as anti-Semitic. That's important to us, mostly because the green parties are gaining strength. The Green party in France, for example, has no clear position on boycotting Israel. That is also a reason to worry," Kalifat explains.
