The right-wing populist politics of condemning anti-Semitism in Europe

An old specter is haunting Europe: anti-Semitism. Incidents of anti-Semitic speech, harassment, and violence have been rising, not only since the deadly attacks on Jews in Brussels last year and in Paris and Copenhagen a few weeks ago. The British Community Security Trust and the French Jewish Community Security Service, which have documented anti-Semitic incidents in both countries for many years, both discovered a doubling of incidents between 2013 and 2014. Anti-Jewish slogans and violence accompanied demonstrations in Berlin against Israel’s military action in Gaza last year. Growing numbers of Jews are considering leaving Europe because they do not feel safe anymore. This “new” anti-Semitism emanates not only from the far right but also from parts of the left and elements of the Muslim community. And this last point has made the condemnation of anti-Semitism an attractive political instrument for right-wing populist parties.

While the far right in Europe had long preached hatred against Jews, today’s many right-wing populist parties, most prominently the Front National in France, expressly distance themselves from anti-Semitism and even portray themselves as the only true protectors of Jews in Europe. Whether far-right leaders really have buried their resentments against Jews cannot be judged from the outside. Given the past of some of their parties and the views of many of their followers, one has doubts. But even if they have, they are nonetheless using the condemnation of anti-Semitism as a political instrument to attract votes and pursue their Islamophobic agendas.

Right-wing populist parties in Europe across the board have tried to put a friendly face on xenophobia and racism. The strong condemnation of anti-Semitism is one strategy, aiming at making these parties more socially acceptable. Open anti-Semitism is largely taboo in European politics, and anti-Semitic parties do not win elections, at least in Western Europe. But parties which – at least rhetorically – distance themselves from anti-Semitism while advocating strict immigration policies have increasingly been successful. Publicly condemning anti-Semitism can furthermore be considered an attempt to win over coalition partners who otherwise might refrain from cooperation. In Austria, for example, the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) between 2000 and 2005 in order to form a government (which resulted in several months of unprecedented EU sanctions against a member state). In the Netherlands and Scandinavia, right-wing populist parties propped up minority governments. Besides the major parties, attracting the votes of Jews might also be part of this strategy. However, the Jewish population in Europe is so small that it is unlikely that this is the main goal (with a few exceptions at municipal level, see below).

Right-wing populist parties furthermore blame the increasing anti-Semitism on Muslim immigrant communities. Last month, Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National, said “It’s the rise of Islamism that hits, hurts and kills… It’s time to fight the danger threatening French Jews.” Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), wrote in an open letter that, “The more Islam grows in the Netherlands, the more anti-Semitism grows.” In the Belgian city of Antwerp, home to a relatively sizable Jewish community, the Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) party capitalizes on conflicts between the community and Arab immigrants and Jewish fear of anti-Semitic violence in order to attract Jewish votes in local elections. UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage stressed a few weeks ago in a radio interview, “I have detected quite a sharp rise in anti-Semitism in Britain and across the EU. What’s fueling it is there are many more Muslim voices and some of them are deeply critical of Israel and some of them question Israel’s right to exist.”

Many of these right-wing parties have started to establish relations with conservative politicians in Israel to help prevent the emergence of “Islamist theocracies surrounding Israel and in Europe’s backyard,” as Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the FPÖ, explained in a 2011 interview with Der Spiegel. Given their xenophobic ideas, often anti-Semitic past, and continued support from followers involved in anti-Semitic incidents, it seems questionable that their main goal is to protect people of the Jewish faith. At best, it is only secondary to the objective of stoking resentment against Muslim immigrants and Islam in general.

Blaming anti-Semitism exclusively on Muslims prevents a critical analysis and sincere dialogue about the sources of anti-Semitism in Europe. It primarily obscures two important facts: First, available data (which unfortunately is scarce) suggests that a large share of anti-Semitic incidents, including violent attacks, is still committed by right-wing extremists. In the UK, for example, the above-mentioned report by the Community Security Trust finds that 44 percent of violent offenders against Jews in 2014 were described as “White – North European.” According to German police statistics, the overwhelming majority of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany are committed by right-wing extremists. Second, right-wing populist discourse obscures that anti-Semitic sentiment and stereotypes are also widespread among non-immigrant citizens in Europe.

It indeed is a challenging fact for those who are trying to fight anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe that many of the deadly attacks on Jews have been committed by staunch Islamists. This fact, however, must not lead us to forget that anti-Semitism is a problem in European societies as a whole. We have to find ways to clearly condemn these crimes without pitting one religious minority group against the other. Otherwise, we only play into the hands of groups which are primarily interested in inciting xenophobia, which in the end will backfire against liberal societies, rather than seriously clamping down on discrimination and hate.