Latest news with #Chikli
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Qatar under Israeli attack for supporting radical Islam at CPAC conference in Hungary
Chikli referred to the financing that radical Islamic organizations tied to the Brotherhood are getting from EU institutions and declared: 'Europe is financing its own death.' BUDAPEST - Israeli speakers participating in the fourth CPAC conference in the Hungarian capital, gathering leaders of patriotic and sovereigntist parties from Europe and the Americas, harshly attacked Qatar for its massive support of spreading radical Islam in the West and intentionally working to impose Sharia law on European societies. At the conference, Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, stressed in his speech the recently published report on the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in France and the central role Qatar and Turkey are playing in financing and promoting the Brotherhood with the aim of imposing Islamic law in the European countries where the organization is active. Chikli also referred to the financing that radical Islamic organizations tied to the Brotherhood are getting from EU institutions and declared: 'Europe is financing its own death.' He emphasized that Israel is at the forefront of the global war against radical Islam. 'We do not ask others to fight for us; we fight ourselves,' said Chikli, adding, 'We don't do it because we like war, but because we don't have the luxury to retreat.' However, the minister expressed his wish to see more European leaders who understand the danger of radical Islam taking over Europe. Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was invited to the conference as a 'prominent political influencer,' also criticized Qatar, calling it 'a Muslim Brotherhood regime,' which, unlike other Gulf emirates, wants to subject all the West to Sharia law and brainwashes American and European youths to hate their countries and identity. Netanyahu told participants at the conference that the so-called pro-Palestinian riots that have taken place in the West since the October 7 massacre are not about Israel or the Palestinians but an expression of a desire of the 'red-green coalition' to destroy the West. 'The Left and the Islamists want to destroy Western civilization for different reasons, but they have the same goal. Israel is just the first target.' Minister of Transportation Miri Regev called on French President Emmanuel Macron to 'open his eyes' in light of the report's findings on the activities of the Brotherhood in his country. 'Remember, not only the Jews are threatened on French soil, but France itself,' she sent a warning to Macron. Regev accused the EU of adopting antisemitic resolutions time after time against Israel and called on the European right-wing participants to work together in order to change the EU's attitude toward Israel. She also called on all European airlines to resume their flights to Israel, which were stopped after a Houthi missile hit Ben-Gurion Airport at the beginning of May. 'There is no reason not to fly to Israel,' stressed the minister. All Israeli speakers praised Hungary and its government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for its support of Israel before and after the October 7 massacre.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Suspected Washington gunman was BLM protester who flaunted support for Hamas
The terror suspect accused of killing two Israeli embassy staff was a Black Lives Matter protester who flaunted his support for Hamas online. Elias Rodriguez, 30, was arrested after allegedly shooting Israeli embassy staff members Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim as they left a reception for diplomats near Washington's Jewish museum on Wednesday. Mr Rodriguez entered the museum and was detained by security staff as witnesses rushed to help the victims, police said. Footage of his arrest shows him chanting 'free, free Palestine' as he is taken away by an officer. Social media posts which appear to have been made by the alleged gunman have revealed the extent of his obsession with the terrorist group Hamas and his thirst for violence. On New Year's Day, an account believed to belong to Mr Rodriguez posted: 'Happy New Year, Death To Israel.' In another alarming message published around a week after the assassination attempt of Donald Trump in July last year, Mr Rodriguez shared an image that read: 'I agree with the public opinion that says to kill him!' Another post suggested he supported the bombing of the New York Times newsroom. 'Progressive tweeps, as much as I love delving into the day's discourse, can we PLEASE save the idealistic and high-minded debate over the morality of sending a truck bomb into the offices of The New York Times until *AFTER* we send a truck bomb into the office,' the post read. The account's profile picture features an avatar wearing a medical face mask. After the shooting, Mr Rodriguez fled into the Capital Jewish Museum and was detained. Amid the chaos, he is said to have been allowed into the museum by security guards who assumed he was a distraught bystander. Minutes later, when officers arrived, Mr Rodriguez allegedly admitted to carrying out the shooting. From Chicago, the suspected gunman was once linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a far-Left group that regularly posts anti-Israel rhetoric on social media and spearheaded Black Lives Matter protests. Mr Rodriguez participated in a 2017 Black Lives Matter protest outside the home of Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago at the time, according to a now-deleted article on the group's Liberation news outlet seen by the New York Post. Before the killing, he once worked as an oral history researcher at the History Makers, a non-profit that documents the stories of 'unsung' African Americans, an online CV Chikli, Israeli diaspora affairs minister, said the world must hold to account the 'irresponsible leaders in the West who give backing' to hatred against Jews and Israelis, 'whether through appeasement, double standards, or silence'.Mr Chikli said: 'French president Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines. This cowardice has a price – and that price is paid in Jewish blood.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Diaspora minister slams Ireland and Spain as 'most hostile' to Israel
According to a new report by the Israeli government, cases of antisemitism have risen dramatically in 2024, with some countries registering a sixfold increase after Hamas' 7 October attack and Israel's response to it. Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli told Euronews in an exclusive interview that Spain and Ireland have undergone a significant change, becoming "the most hostile states regarding the state of Israel and the Jewish community." Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised a Palestinian state last year. In an earlier exclusive interview with Euronews last week, Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin called the situation in Gaza "hell on earth," accusing Israel of committing what he called 'war crimes' and criticising the EU's 'lack of response'. Chikli strongly rejected the accusation and shot back at Ireland for its stance. In Chikli's words, when an Irish leader who "comes to the Holocaust Remembrance Day and instead of speaking about the Holocaust ... speaks about Gaza - that is something which is violent antisemitism led by a head of state." Same goes for Spain, Chikli said, criticising Madrid's decision to join the ICC case against Israel over alleged crimes in its war on Hamas in the Strip. Spain and Ireland have both repeatedly rejected Israel's accusations of antisemitism. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in October that any form of hatred towards the Jewish community has no place in the southern European country. In Spain, Albares added, "one has freedom of expression, and any form of incitement to hatred, including antisemitism, is not only widely rejected, but enshrined in the penal code." The Israeli government report also specifically condemned French President Emmanuel Macron, stating that his comments accusing Israel of 'killing women and children' were used to "legitimise antisemitic rhetoric from the far-left in France." Chikli accused the French president of not supporting the Jewish community in France, the largest in Europe and the third largest in the world after Israel and the US. 'When Emmanuel Macron chooses not to attend the parade of the Jewish community against antisemitism, it sends a message,' Chikli pointed out. This is why, he said, Israel has found support with what used to be considered unimaginable partners, like the right-wing, including France's far-right National Rally party (RN). 'Marine Le Pen, for instance, we know the history of her father, which was very problematic in regard of antisemitism. But she decided to take a different path," Chikli said. "First, she removed her father from the party. And since 7 October she attended the parade of the Jewish community against antisemitism." "She spoke very clearly against the ICC decision against (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and the defence minister (Yoav) Gallant,' Chikli told Euronews. This is why Israel sees the RN and Spain's Vox party as "potential partners in the future," he concluded.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prominent Jewish figures boycott Israel antisemitism event over far right guests
Prominent figures, including several Jewish leaders, have stayed away from an international conference on antisemitism held in Jerusalem, in protest at the inclusion of politicians from across Europe associated with the far right. Those who declined to attend included Israel's own president and the chief rabbi of the UK, Sir Ephraim Mirvis. At the conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning about the rise in antisemitism. He said Europe was at risk of allowing antisemitism to go unchecked in a similar way to the years leading up to the Nazi Holocaust. "Racial antisemitism is inciting a global war against the existence of the Jews as a race that poisons human societies," his own father had written in 1933, Netanyahu said. "Today," he said, "we issue a similar warning. The fate of free societies is tied to the willingness to fight the scourge of antisemitism." But the inclusion at the event of representatives of European far-right parties, like France's National Rally, Spain's Vox and the Sweden Democrats, had proven controversial. The UK government's antisemitism advisor Lord Mann turned down his invitation, saying: "There is nothing for the UK to learn about tackling antisemitism from some of these characters." Chief Rabbi Mirvis declined to participate "having been made aware of the attendance of a number of far-right populist politicians", his office said in a statement issued last week. Israel's President Isaac Herzog did not attend either. He hosted his own separate event with Jewish leaders instead in what was seen as a compromise. The conference was organised by Amichai Chikli, Israel's Diaspora Affairs Minister, and an outspoken member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party. Chikli has over the past several months courted ties with far-right parties across Europe. Early last year he met the Sweden Democrat leader who visited Jerusalem, and was a speaker at a Vox conference in Madrid. Chikli defended the inclusion of far-right politicians from Europe, saying they had faced "lies spread against them by those who slander the State of Israel worldwide". Among those at the conference whose presence had caused some consternation was National Rally President Jordan Bardella, whose party was originally founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, a man accused of antisemitism and found guilty of Holocaust denial. Jean-Marie was expelled from the party - then called the National Front - in 2015 by his daughter Marine over his comments about the Holocaust being a "detail" of history. But since his death in January she has said she can't "forgive herself" for doing so. The 29-year-old Bardella - a rising star of the French right - spoke on stage where he acknowledged the "eminent symbolic significance" of his invitation to Israel. Whilst he did not explicitly reference his party's past, he made vows for its future under Marine Le Pen, who heads the group in parliament. "I would like to tell you in all sincerity, through its positions, its proposals and its steadfastness in the face of this threat, the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, is the best shield for the Jews of France," he said. "Islamism is the totalitarianism of the 21st century," he warned. "It threatens to destroy everything that is not like it," echoing a claim often made by his party that France is facing an "Islamist threat". Bardella had earlier visited some of the places where Hamas carried out attacks on 7 October 2023, and Israel's Holocaust memorial institute Yad Vashem. The conference was also a reminder of how Israel sees itself under attack by parts of the international community. Panel discussions were held on topics including "Addressing Anti-Israel Bias in International Institutions", "How Radical Islam Fuels Antisemitism in the West?" and "Double Standards, From the Battlefield to the ICC". The ICC – International Criminal Court - has issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes against the Palestinians. The move caused outrage across Israel, which accused the ICC itself of being motivated by antisemitism.
Euronews
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Israel's antisemitism conference sparks debate over alliances with Europe's right wing
ADVERTISEMENT The international antisemitism conference, held in Jerusalem this week, surprised the political scene in Israel and beyond its borders, marking a shift in the political narrative of Europe's right wing. Hosted by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, the event was aimed at addressing "contemporary antisemitism" and raising awareness about its key drivers "posed by the evolving realities" since Hamas' 7 October attack. Among those attending: Jordan Bardella, leader of France's National Rally party (RN) and Marion Maréchal, granddaughter of RN's predecessor National Front founder and Holocaust denier Jean-Marie Le Pen. Prominent figures in Jewish communities worldwide were among those boycotting, including French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, German antisemitism commissioner Felix Klein, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt, and others. Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), told Euronews he also received the invite, but declined it after hearing the reaction of "all major European Jewish organisations and national organizations in Europe." Rabbi Goldschmidt's reasons for declining included the fact that the country's president was also not attending the event, organising a private reception in his residence instead. 'If the president of Israel does not attend this conference, I'm not going to attend it either,' he said. The event was organised by Minister Amichai Chikli, who is in charge of fostering ties between Israel and the Jewish diaspora and fighting antisemitism. And when it comes to the latter, the conference managed to bring in what used to be an unimaginable ally: European right-wing politicians. However, Israel is not "turning a blind eye on Holocaust deniers," Chikli told Euronews. 'I think that when you look at the real threat and the main threat, it is coming from radical Islam. And therefore, here we can have mutual allies that in the past we didn't work with.' And this, according to Chikli, is the case with France's far-right party. 'We are well aware of the history of the party. We are well aware of the history of (RN leader Marine Le Pen's) father. We know he was an antisemite. And we do not forget him," Chikli said. "But, take a look. Who is speaking against Hamas? Who is speaking against radical Islam? Who is speaking against the decisions of the ICC against our prime minister and the minister of defence? These are Bardella, Marine Le Pen, these are our allies in Europe. So that is the new reality. Now, if for someone it's a challenge, that's okay.' Right-wing rebranding In a speech at the conference, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that antisemitism was growing in European capitals, the Western press, social media and in elite US universities, blaming the American campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza on 'a systemic alliance between ultra-progressive left and radical Islam.' It's a message that seems to be at the very core of this new alliance. Speaking to the Jerusalem Post ahead of the conference, Bardella outlined what he described as the new front line of the struggle against anti-Semitism in the 21st century. ADVERTISEMENT 'This resurgence comes from two phenomena that I fight against: Islamist fundamentalism and its best ally today, the French radical left," Bardella said. Marion Maréchal, the niece of Marine Le Pen and an MEP with the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, called it "a natural alignment". 'It's been years now that our compatriots of Jewish faith have turned to voting, to the national body, whether it's the National Rally or myself in the European elections," Maréchal said. "I would like to thank Minister Chikli, who invited us, for having finally put an end to this sort of taboo, if I may put it that way, and which now enables us to work in harmony with a certain number of Israeli officials.' ADVERTISEMENT Rabbi Goldschmidt told Euronews that this alignment comes from what "the far-right groups promise to their electorate which others don't." "The main promise of the far right, and it differs from country to country, is the promise of personal security. And for the Jewish community, since 7 October, the issue of personal security has become a prime issue," he explained. The Jewish community in France is the largest in Europe, yet it's still facing significant prejudice. Last year, the country saw a total of 1,570 antisemitic acts registered in France - 6% less than in 2023, but three times more than in 2022. Rabbi Goldschmidt told Euronews that in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, over 70% of members of the Jewish community voted for a far-right candidate. ADVERTISEMENT 'This shows to what extent there is a problem which has to be dealt with, also with regard to Europe and with regard to the voters in Europe,' he pointed out. Netanyahu's domestic struggle As Israel's government seems to have found new allies in Europe and bigger support from the administration of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing growing internal issues. After bringing an end to a two-month ceasefire that saw the release of dozens of Israeli hostages from Gaza in return for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, Israel is now reportedly planning a new, more significant ground operation in Gaza that could involve occupying large portions of the Strip. Questions are increasingly being asked, including from Israeli society, whether this would help bring back the hostages still being held by Hamas or put their lives in even more danger, while at the same time causing more devastation and more death in Gaza. ADVERTISEMENT Protesters rallied on Tuesday and Wednesday in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, demanding an immediate hostage deal, in reaction to Netanyahu's decision to resume fighting in Gaza, which the protesters see as politically motivated. Related As Israel resumes its war on Hamas, the fate of hostages becomes increasingly unclear EU foreign policy chief calls for renewed Gaza ceasefire amid escalation On Thursday, Israel's parliament passed a key part of the prime minister's plan to overhaul the judiciary, angering critics and protesters who see it as a power grab by the government. The law gives the government a more prominent role in appointing judges. Israel's government put the judicial overhaul on hold after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, and in January 2024, the Supreme Court shot down another key component that would have prevented judges from striking down some government decisions. ADVERTISEMENT The effort regained momentum this month after Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and resumed its offensive. That helped solidify Netanyahu's governing coalition, which relies on far-right parties that want to continue the war.
