Published: 13 June 2024
Last updated: 13 June 2024
We find ourselves in a troubling world indeed when a far-right surge sweeps Europe and some people think it is good for Israel and therefore “good for the Jews”.
The results of the European parliamentary elections should be disturbing for anyone with the smallest knowledge of history or the slightest concern about human rights.
Far-right parties are set to win about 150 of the European parliament’s 720 seats, giving them unprecedented impact on the make-up of coalitions in the new parliament.
The far-right parties that made significant gains include Alternative for Germany (AfD), Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, Poland’s Confederation, and the coalition party Identity and Democracy (ID).
Among their successful candidates are Grzegorz Braun, who last Chanukah disrupted an event in the Polish Parliament, extinguishing the Chanukah candles and describing the festival as “satanic worship”.
They also include German Maximilian Krah, who caused a furore last year when he told an interviewer that he did not consider all members of the SS to be criminals.
Europe has not collapsed. The centrist European People’s Party (EPP) was the biggest single winner on Sunday night and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking a second term, expressed hope that the group could still act as an “anchor of stability”.
