In a pointed response to European sanctions against Judea and Samaria, dozens of European Parliament members are gathering today (Wednesday) in Strasbourg for a conference that will see the Patriots for Europe faction formally align itself with Israel against the sanctions and rising antisemitism across the continent.
The Patriots for Europe is the third-largest faction in the European Parliament. The Strasbourg conference aims to establish a clear European position: support for Israel, opposition to sanctions and boycotts against communities in Judea and Samaria, and a fight against antisemitism.
The faction includes members from ANO 2011, the party of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš; Fidesz, the party of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán; members from Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom in the Netherlands; Austria's Freedom Party; members from Jordan Bardella's National Rally, which leads polls for France's premiership; and representatives from additional parties across Europe.
During the conference, party representatives are expected to sign a charter adopting the IHRA principles for combating antisemitism and Holocaust remembrance. The charter establishes, among other things, that attacks on the State of Israel can constitute expressions of modern antisemitism, and recognizes the crimes committed in the Holocaust and the obligation to fight its denial and distortion. The move takes on special significance against the backdrop of the wave of sanctions and measures against Israel and against communities in Judea and Samaria.
Knesset Member Ariel Kellner, chairman of the Knesset's Committee for Cooperation with the European Parliament, will participate in the conference. Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan sent a recorded address to conference attendees, as did Michael Kleiner, president of the Likud's internal court.
"Antisemitism begins with Jews, but it never ends with Jews," Kellner said ahead of the conference. "There is antisemitism on the extreme right and on the extreme left, but the truth must be told: the vast majority of physical attacks against Jews today are carried out in the name of Islam. And this is the real threat to the entire West, because it starts against the Jews, but it won't stop there."
According to him, "The recent sanctions that European countries are imposing on Jews in Judea and Samaria are also antisemitic. When sanctions are applied against the state of the Jews and against the people of the Bible who returned to the land of the Bible --- this is a double standard, this is hypocrisy, and this is modern antisemitism."
"Israel is on the front line of the battle between civilization and barbarism," Kellner concluded. "Europe must stand with the State of Israel both out of commitment to truth and justice, but also because we are fighting its own battle."
Michael Kleiner added that "the sanctions being imposed by 12 countries, with Britain at their head, on Judea and Samaria are a double-edged sword. Those who will suffer from them most are tens of thousands of Palestinians who earn their living working for Jews in Israel and in Judea and Samaria. The example of this is the attempted boycott of SodaStream: the factory moved to the Arava and was not harmed, but 500 Arab workers lost their livelihoods and were forced to work in the Palestinian Authority for much lower wages. The factories won't close, but the sanctions could severely harm workers' livelihoods."
Dagan told conference attendees: "On behalf of all my citizens in Samaria, the cradle of the Bible and the very heart of the Land of Israel, on behalf of all citizens of Israel, and on behalf of all partners in truth around the world, I want to thank you. It is an honor for me to share with you our appreciation, especially in these difficult days of war around the world. We are fighting together against a common enemy: the strange coalition between radical Islamists and radical progressives."
"We are fighting to defend Europe. We are fighting to defend Israel. We are fighting to defend the future of Western civilization as a whole. We stand together against barbaric terror attacks," he emphasized. "We stand together against the new war - the war of delegitimization campaigns and the war of lies. And we have the strength to win, because we understand how critical this war is for the future of the entire world."
