FM Sa’ar greenlights first official Israeli contacts with France’s National Rally, Spain’s VOX, and Sweden Democrats

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar instructed his ministry and the country’s embassies to initiate official relations with three, hitherto boycotted, right-wing parties in France, Spain, and Sweden.

The decision marks a significant shift in Israeli policy, which until now, has largely shunned most of Europe’s rising right-wing parties, many of which have been facing allegations of xenophobia, racism, authoritarianism, or neo-Nazism.

Some of these parties are largely boycotted by their respective countries’ Jewish communities, despite often being vocally pro-Israel. They also frequently include many Christian representatives in their ranks.

“In the last European Parliament elections, the right-wing won, and it has become much friendlier toward Israel,” Sa’ar told The Jerusalem Post.

“The three women holding key positions in the EU – President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, whom I met – all took a friendly approach toward us; certainly not a hostile one,” the minister explained.

While the three female leaders are representatives of Europe’s traditional center-right parties, the populist right has been on the rise across the continent for several years now.

According to Walla News, the move to establish contacts with these parties was started under previous Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who ordered the ministry to conduct broad groundwork to examine the policies and personnel of several parties in Europe.

When Sa’ar took office last November, he was presented with the findings regarding the parties’ stance toward Israel, positions regarding the Jewish community, the Jewish community’s attitude toward them, as well as their statements touching on antisemitism, their past connections to the Nazis, and more.

At the end of this examination, Sa’ar ordered to establish contacts with France’s National Rally, Spain’s VOX, and the Sweden Democrats.

“We do not agree with the entire platform of these parties or with all the statements of their leaders, but we believe it is possible to engage in dialogue with them,” a senior official in the Foreign Ministry told Walla.

“This was not a populist decision or one made lightly. Months of work were done, including lengthy consultations,” the official added.

Speaking with the Post, Sa’ar highlighted the preparatory work that was done, and noted that he decided to initiate contact only when certain conditions were met.

He also acknowledged that some parties had roots in antisemitism but were now working to distance themselves from this, which is something Israel can accept.

However, Sa’ar decided against contacts with the German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the Austrian Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ).

Regarding those parties, Sa’ar said, “We are not satisfied that all the parameters allowing for dialogue with them as a Foreign Ministry have been met.”

According to a senior official in the Foreign Ministry, Israeli embassies in Paris, Madrid, and Stockholm were instructed to inform local Jewish organizations of the decision and coordinate talks with the three parties, which took place without media statements.

In addition to the Foreign Ministry, other ministers have advanced the outreach to European right wing parties, particularly Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, who met last week with Jordan Bardella, chairman of France’s National Rally, as well as the leader of VOX, Santiago Abascal.