On January 29, a delegation of senior members of the far-right Sweden Democrats paid a visit to Israel. Surprisingly, the delegation met a minister in the Israeli parliament, Knesset. Haaretz, the oldest newspaper in the country, reported that delegation members told reporters that they met several other ministers – avoiding mentioning them by name.
Sweden Democrats never had relations with the country of Israel due to their nazi past and antisemitism. However, under the new situation that emerged after last October’s Hamas terrorist attack, it seems that Benjamin Netanyahu‘s party is trying to enlarge the circle of “friends” and allies.
“The Sweden Democratic delegation in Israel today had a meeting with Amichai Chikli, minister of diaspora and minister for the fight against antisemitism,” posted on X, the leader of the party Jimmie Åkesson.
“It is clear that our respective parties, and even nations, have many common core values. Many of our problems are also similar, so there is much to be gained from an exchange of experience and deepened cooperation both at the national and party level. We humbly thank you for the invitation to the Knesset and the very fruitful conversation. May there be many more to come,” Åkesson concluded.
Which common core values an Israeli conservative party (Likud) can have with a far-right party with nazi roots? Which similar problems do the Swedish society and the Israeli have? And what kind of experience the Islamophobic Sweden Democrats will exchange with Likud?
In 2022, the leadership of Sweden Democrats admitted that initially, the party comprised Nazis, fascists, and skinheads.
An unholy alliance between far-right politicians?
However, who is the minister who met the Swedish delegation?
Amichai Chiklithe, Minister of Diaspora Affairs, entered politics in March 2021 as a candidate of the far-right coalition Yamina.
A year later, the party decided to enter the Likud. The thirty-seventh government of Israel resulted from the 2022 elections. It consisted of seven parties, including far-right politicians.
Until the terrorist attack of Hamas, several mass demonstrations contested the projects of this government.
After the meeting of Minister Chiklithe with the white supremacists from Sweden, a question arises. Are the bounds between far-right politicians so solid to allow an Israeli to neglect the fact his interlocutor is an antisemite?
The racist roots of the Sweden Democrats
For over 20 years, the Sweden Democrats have tried to revise their image, hide their political identity, and present themselves as a party that protects Swedish values and national interests.
The party emerged in 1988 from the dark world of white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups. In 1988, at least two founding members were directly related to neo-Nazism. The first auditor of the party was a Waffen-SS veteran and a former member of the national-socialist party, and the first chairman was a member of the Nordic Reich Party. Members wearing Nazi uniforms during party meetings was not a rare occurrence.
The party is a direct descendant of the racist organisation Bevara Sverige Svenskt (BSS, “Keep Sweden Swedish”), which was active in the 1980s. Sweden Democrats used the BSS slogan “Keep Sweden Swedish” in the 2000s.
However, in 1995, a significant change occurred. Over the next couple of years, the party worked more on lifting its image by abandoning the European far-right family and expelling radical members. Their new leader, the 39-year-old Jimmy Åkesson, the party leader since 2005, tried hard to convince public opinion of that. They also replaced the neo-Fascist torch symbol with a ‘happy’ design of an Anemone hepatica flower in 2006.
In 2010, the party entered the Riksdag, the parliament.
Under the new leader, Sweden Democrats directed their action against minority groups of Swedish society, such as Sami people and Jews. The party wants, among other things, measures against the Sami indigenous people and abolishing the Sami parliament.
By using fake news, they criminalised Muslims and migrants.
Thus, was the meeting between the Israeli minister and the far-right Swedish party due to a misunderstanding or a shift in Likud’s international policy?
Because partnering with the European far-right, despite being an unprincipled political action, fuels antisemitism!
