European Jewish Congress (EJC) President Dr. Ariel Muzicant sharply criticized Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli for inviting far-right European politicians to Israel’s upcoming International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, warning that the move undermines decades of efforts to fight antisemitism and Holocaust denial.
“For 80 years, we have been fighting antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and the aftermath of the Shoah,” Muzicant wrote in a letter sent to The Jerusalem Post. “Extreme right parties in Europe have been our worst opponents in this fight.
Many functionaries and leaders of those parties have supported Holocaust denial, promoted antisemitic codes and statements, and fought against anti-Nazi legislation.”
Muzicant argued that while some far-right politicians now claim to support Israel, their motivations are questionable.
“The motivation of extreme right politicians to come to this conference is not the love for Israel or to protect the Jews, but mainly to get a kosher rabbi stamp. And we, Jews or Israelis, should not be used as rabbi stamps,” he wrote.
Muzicant: Chikli’s actions “stab Jews in the back”
The EJC president warned that inviting controversial figures is directly harmful to Jewish communities across Europe, where many feel caught between the extreme left, Islamists, Hamas supporters, and the far right.
“This Chikli conference is a major problem for Jewish communities in Europe. It is harming the Jewish existence in the Diaspora. It is as if members of the Israeli government are stabbing us in the back,” he wrote.
Muzicant emphasized that far-right movements in Europe often oppose liberal democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and press freedom—values he described as “oxygen” for Jewish survival in the Diaspora.
“Taking these values away, what the extreme right promotes, makes life for Jews in Europe impossible,” he stated.
Backlash grows as key figures withdraw from conference
Muzicant’s condemnation follows a wave of withdrawals from the conference, including UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, UK antisemitism adviser Lord John Mann, and Goldsmiths University professor David Hirsh.
“There is nothing for the UK to learn about tackling antisemitism from some of these characters,” Mann told the Jewish News, referring to far-right politicians such as French National Rally leader Jordan Bardella, Marion Maréchal, and Spanish MEP Hermann Tertsch.
Hirsh, who also withdrew, stated: “There are too many far-right speakers on the agenda who associate themselves with anti-democratic and anti-egalitarian movements.”
Calls for Chikli to revoke invitations
Muzicant also warned that Israel’s enemies will exploit the invitations to attack the country’s international standing.
“Its enemies attack Israel as a fascist, racist, apartheid state. These invitations are used against Israel by our enemies,” he wrote.
On Monday, MK Gilad Kariv (Democrats) called on the government to rescind the invitations, writing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the move represents a “deviation from longstanding Israeli policy” and contradicts the positions of Jewish organizations worldwide.
