JERUSALEM: European politicians from the far-right are gathering in Israel for a conference on anti-Semitism this week, sealing an alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government that would have been unthinkable in the past.
Analysts say the invitation to parties that have themselves been accused of anti-Semitism in the past demonstrates the willingness of Israel's right -- under pressure from some traditional allies over the war in Gaza -- to cultivate new relationships with unlikely supporters.
"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.
Thursday's symposium will focus on fighting what rights groups have described as a rising tide of anti-Semitism around the world, a priority for Netanyahu's government, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history.
France's National Rally and Hungary's Fidesz party are among the guests, along with other members of Europe's far right.
National Rally's founder, the late Jean-Marie Le Pen, was known for his anti-Semitic remarks, including dismissing Nazi gas chambers as "just a detail" of history, though his daughter and successor Marine Le Pen has worked to distance the movement from his legacy.
Fidesz leader Viktor Orban, meanwhile, has previously praised Hungary's World War Two-era leader, an ally of Hitler, and has been accused of trafficking in rhetoric seen by critics as an anti-Semitic dog whistle -- an accusation he denies.
The invitations "didn't go by unnoticed" in Israel, said Charbit.
Israeli media reported on guests who cancelled their appearances in protest of the far-right's 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Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and the UK government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, John Mann, have also withdrawn.
'Opportunistic varnish'
"When a party that was anti-Semitic in the past says it changed, Israelis generally react with mistrust. They want to see whether it's just opportunistic varnish," said Charbit, referring to past anti-Semitic comments made by National Rally members.
Although the party has worked hard in recent years to ingratiate itself with France's Jewish community -- the largest in Europe -- Jean-Marie Le Pen was charged and convicted in a French court for downplaying the Holocaust.
It is the first time France's far right has been invited to such an event in Israel, with 29-year-old National Rally president Jordan Bardella one of few guests expected to make a speech.
Attending on behalf of Orban's Fidesz will be Member of European Parliament (MEP) Kinga Gal.
While Orban now casts himself as defender of Jews in Hungary, he previously championed a campaign against George Soros -- an American billionaire and Jewish philanthropist of Hungarian heritage -- that critics saw as veiled anti-Semitism.
At the conference, Gal will take part in a roundtable on "radical Islam" along with Swedish anti-immigration MEP Charlie Weimers.
Leaning illiberal
Shattering weeks of relative calm afforded by a January ceasefire, Israel last week resumed intense bombardment and ground operations across Gaza.
The resumption of military operations drew international condemnation, including from some of Israel's longtime allies, adding to mounting criticism -- particularly on the left -- of Israel's conduct of the war, which has killed thousands of civilians.
In Israel, thousands have marched against Netanyahu and his government, protesting what they see as their country slipping towards autocracy -- an accusation also levelled at far-right movements elsewhere.
"Those currently mobilised against an illiberal state are not content, but also not surprised" by the conference's unusual guests, said Charbit.
Netanyahu, for his part, has rejected such accusations as "worn-out and ridiculous", telling parliament on Thursday: "Democracy is not in danger."
Thomas Vescovi, an expert on the Israeli left, described it as a political minority faced with "a profound sense of threat" that has only heightened since the unprecedented Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.
"For progressive movements of Israel's historic left, which doesn't mobilise many people today, it's obvious that these far right parties are not allies," said Vescovi, a researcher at Paris' School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.
He said Israeli authorities have promoted the view of a Western country surrounded by a "threatening Middle East dominated by Islamist organisations" since the Second Intifada, a Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s.
By adhering to this idea of a "clash of civilisations", Israel's far-right converges ideologically with Europe's.
"Looking at who Israelis vote for, we see that part of Israeli society shares these reactionary or right-wing ideas," Vescovi said.
"A significant part but not a majority."