Diaspora Minister Chikli kicks off antisemitism confab, calls Haaretz 'beacon of lies and anti-Zionism'
Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli opened his remarks at the International Conference on Combating Antisemitism with a diatribe against Haaretz, calling it "a beacon of lies," following its reports that the conference would include prominent far-right European politicians.
Earlier in March, Jewish representatives abroad cancelled their participation at the conference, after learning far-right parties in Europe, including the head of France's National Rally, would attend. Chikli addressed the conference's attendees, saying they had been unjustly smeared "by those who slander the State of Israel worldwide."
"Leading this charge is Haaretz," he said, "a far-left and pro-Palestinian newspaper, that over the course of the past decade, and especially since the war began, has become a beacon of lies, an anti-Zionist propaganda tool, a source of delegitimization and demonization of the state of Israel and the IDF's brave soldiers."
"Haaretz and others like them do not represent the Jewish people and do not represent Israeli society, and they do not represent the State of Israel," he said.
Leader of France's National Rally Jordan Bardella, left, is welcomed by Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli in southern Israel on Wednesday.Credit: Jack Guez/AP
Chikli claimed that the vast majority of crimes against Jews in Europe were perpetrated by Muslims. "Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam were not attacked by Dutch citizens; they were attacked by radical Islamist immigrants," he said. "This ideology did not begin with Hamas. It has deep historical roots," he said, citing the Prophet Mohammed's "frustration at the Jewish tribes of Arabia."
Gadi Taub, a researcher and writer, called Haaretz "an antisemitic paper, and it doesn't like us fighting antisemitism." His remarks were received with enthusiastic applause.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar praised President Trump's deportation orders of pro-Palestinian activists on campuses, and said that "other countries must follow suit." The Trump administration has recently detained and threatened to deport students involved in pro-Palestinian protests across campuses in the U.S., most notably Columbia's Mahmoud Khalil.
"Antisemitism is just the tip of the spear of the radical alliance's larger fight against freedom," the foreign minister said. "And the Jewish people are on the frontlines of this battle. We see this in Israel, in Amsterdam and Orleans, France; at the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne and the Beit Tikvah Synagogue in Montreal and on college campuses in America."
Matthew Schlapp, the chairman of CPAC, said, "We've made being pro-Israel cool again."