Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said this week that he has instructed diplomats to establish formal communication channels with far-right political parties in Sweden, France and Spain.

These parties — Sweden Democrats, France’s National Rally, and Spain’s Vox — had previously been shunned by Israeli government institutions due to concerns over antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and their historical ties to fascist movements.

The Foreign Ministry, the President’s Residence, and the Prime Minister’s Office had distanced themselves from these European factions due to their controversial histories and rhetoric.

Sa’ar’s decision to formalize diplomatic engagement — first reported by Walla and confirmed to The Times of Israel by a Foreign Ministry official — follows internal assessments conducted under his predecessor, Israel Katz. Upon his appointment as foreign minister in November, Sa’ar analyzed the parties based on four key factors: their stance on Israel, their attitudes toward local Jewish communities, how Jewish communities in their respective countries view them, and whether they have actively confronted their antisemitic legacies.

The foreign minister ultimately determined that dialogue was viable with these three parties but decided to maintain Israel’s policy of non-engagement with Austria’s Freedom Party and Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), Walla reported.

In remarks Tuesday to Jewish and pro-Israel leaders in Brussels on Tuesday, Sa’ar explained his rationale. He emphasized that while Israel does not endorse every aspect of these parties’ platforms, it is essential to recognize shifts in their policies and rhetoric.

“The connection will be like with any other political party,” Sa’ar stated. “After I reviewed the matter and heard the opinion at a professional level – I didn’t see a reason not to do so. The opposite.”

He stressed that the Foreign Ministry is evaluating each case carefully, assessing the parties’ attitudes toward Israel, their record on antisemitism and Holocaust denial, and whether they take action against members expressing antisemitic views.

Sa’ar noted that discussions with these parties also touch on practical issues affecting Jewish life in Europe, including religious freedoms related to circumcision and Kashrut.

“We do not want to give up on friends in Europe,” he explained, “but we also don’t want to give legitimacy to parties that empower neo-Nazi phenomena.”

Sa’ar argued that these parties have undergone reform, pointing to their pro-Israel stance and efforts to combat antisemitism.

“Some of these parties have bad roots,” Sa’ar acknowledged, “but we look at their deeds in practice today. Do they denounce or ban party members with antisemitic statements? This is a substantial indication.”

He added: “Ultimately, we make the final decision. But we have a dialogue with leaders of Jewish communities on the topic.”

However, past affiliations and statements of these groups continue to raise concerns.

Israel had boycotted France’s National Rally for decades. The National Front party, which evolved into the National Rally, was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who had multiple convictions for antisemitic hate speech and referred to the use of gas chambers during the Holocaust as “a mere detail of history.”

His daughter, Marine Le Pen, took over the party in 2011 and has since attempted to clean up the party’s past and gain mainstream acceptance. She disassociated from her father’s antisemitic rhetoric and expelled him from the party in 2015. Recently, she has focused on Muslims — who make up 11 percent of the French population — as a threat to France’s stability.

Though Marine Le Pen has publicly denounced antisemitism, some experts say that National Rally supporters still disproportionately harbor antisemitic attitudes.

Sweden Democrats is the largest party of Sweden’s right-wing bloc and the second largest in the Riksdag as of 2024. Swedes long criticized the party because of its roots in the neo-Nazi movement. It has moved in recent years into the mainstream by expelling extremists and gained support through its tough stance on crime and immigration amid rising shootings and gang violence.

In 2022, a Sweden Democrats official was suspended for making degrading comments about Jewish Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, calling her “immoral.”

In 2018, a leader of the party submitted a draft motion calling for a ban on nonmedical circumcision of boys, defining the practice as “backward” child abuse. In the same year, though, Sweden Democrats lawmaker Alexander Christiansson proposed a motion in the Riksdag to move the Swedish embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, aligning with Israel’s designation of Jerusalem as its capital. Neither of those motions passed, though circumcision continues to be controversial in the country. In 2021, Health Ministry officials launched a review into a rabbi and physician for not administering anesthesia when circumcising Jewish infants.

In Spain, the political party Vox has generated significant controversy due to its policy positions and historical associations.

The party advocates for restricting abortion access, repealing existing gender violence legislation, and dismantling the Equality Ministry.

Additionally, Vox has faced criticism for including individuals with neo-Nazi affiliations within its ranks. In 2019, the party selected historian Fernando Paz, known for his Holocaust revisionist views, as a congressional candidate. Paz had previously questioned established facts about the Holocaust and referred to the Nuremberg trials as a “farce.”

The Foreign Ministry’s continued ban on Germany’s AfD, which achieved its strongest electoral performance to date on Sunday, and Austria’s Freedom Party was based on specific criteria, and Israel is carefully monitoring whether these parties are effectively distancing themselves from antisemitic behavior, according to Ynet. One senior official said, “It’s about updating and reassessing based on their actions,” Ynet reported.

Agencies contributed to this report.