"Prominent advocates against antisemitism from around the world have pulled out of a conference in Israel tackling precisely that issue, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The conference, which was organised by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and described as "a shared dialogue on addressing contemporary antisemitism", has been itself termed "antisemitic" by some who were invited to attend.

Haaretz reported that the first reform rabbi to serve in the Israeli Knesset slammed the event, saying it "should not provide a kashrut certification to politicians from either the far right or the far left who represent parties that adopt antisemitic positions, whether publicly or privately, or anti-democratic positions, even if they express support for the policies of the Israeli government and the State of Israel".

The withdrawal of invited guests, such as French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, senior representatives from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and even the chief rabbi of the UK, followed the inclusion of far-right European lawmakers and speakers, many of whom are linked to white supremacy and Nazism, and are vocally anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim, The National newspaper reported.

The guest list highlights how Israel has been cosying up to right-wing extremist elements in Europe and the US in particular, as it seeks to maintain legitimacy and support amid its year-and-a-half long war on Gaza, in which at least 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are women and children.

The president of the European Jewish Congress, Ariel Muzicant, described the conference as "stabbing Jews in the back".

Israel's President Isaac Herzog's official residence hosted the conference despite the leader being on the verge of pulling out of the event altogether. Herzog then decided to limit himself to smaller meetings, according to The National.

Among the speakers on Thursday was Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik, who is under investigation for his separatist policies.

“The Muslims from Sarajevo they want to punish me because I came here to Israel supporting Israel," he told the crowd.

The conference, while centred on antisemitism, made a target of Muslim communities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose own coalition government is ultra-nationalist, blamed anti-war US campus protests supportive of Palestine for a rise in antisemitism, calling the student movement “a systemic alliance between ultra-progressive left and radical Islam”.

“Islamism is the totalitarianism of the 21st century. It threatens to destroy everything that is not like it,” Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right French National Rally party, told participants.

Former US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, in an interview at the event, was asked about US President Donald Trump's plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a beach resort.

“I love it! I love it. And I think it’s doable," he said.
Israel, Gaza and the far right

In the West, most far-right political parties have generally thrown their weight behind Israel in recent years.

At a conference in Spain in early May, hosted by the far-right Vox party, representatives of several ultra-nationalist political movements gathered to hear Israel's minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, describe the fighting in Gaza as "an existential battle for the future of western civilisation against radical Islam".

Far-right support for Israel is nothing new, feeding off nationalist fearmongering about non-white immigration and Muslims while seeing the Israeli state as the vanguard of their own struggle.

However, since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, a small but seemingly influential group of nationalist activists has emerged, amassing large online followings by posting content condemning Israel's bombardment of Gaza and depicting the carnage in the enclave.

Before 7 October 2023, these accounts shared a mix of white nationalism, Covid-19 conspiracy theories and support for Trump, far-right influencer Nick Fuentes, and self-proclaimed "misogynist" and former kickboxer Andrew Tate.

Since then, however, their content has increasingly focused on Gaza, and their accounts have been boosted by other, more casual users concerned about the war but seemingly unaware of their political backgrounds.

The influence of these right-wing activists appears to have grown significant enough that in December, Israeli soldiers scrawled several of their names on a missile set to be fired into Gaza.": https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/invitees-shun-antisemitism-conference-israel-after-european-far-right-attends