There was no doubt that nothing would be easy for Jordan Bardella, during his two-day visit to Israel, at the invitation of the country's far right. On the first day of his trip, consisting of a visit to the scene of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, the president of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party had to defend the relevance of his presence in Israel. His visit was the first by a leader of the former Front National, a party founded 53 years ago by, among others, former collaborators of Nazi Germany. It came two months after the unreserved tributes paid to the late party's founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who embodied anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in France for decades. It will continue on Thursday, March 27, with a conference on anti-Semitism.

For several weeks now, the invitation of Bardella, mainly, but also of other representatives of the European far-right, including Marion Maréchal, has been causing a stir among Jewish organizations worldwide, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog, a member of the Labor Party, canceled the reception scheduled for Wednesday evening. The RN president could, however, count on the resolute and keen support of Benjamin Netanyahu's minister of diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli.

You have 79.55% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.