British far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a visit, after being invited by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of Likud, in a move denounced by leading Jewish groups in the United Kingdom.

In a video uploaded to X from the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion Airport, Robinson said he is “here to show solidarity with the Jewish people and the Israeli people” after the British government announced that it would recognize an independent Palestinian state — which Robinson repeatedly referred to as a “terrorist state” — last month.

Robinson, the founder of the nationalist English Defense League, said he supports Israel because he “sees it as an ally, as a partner… this is a beacon of freedom and democracy, of rights, of all the things that we as British people hold dear, and all the places surrounding this are human rights violations [sic], terror states and jihad states.”

In post accompanying the video, Robinson praised Israel as a “country with strong, patriotic leadership in [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and his [Likud] party.”

According to a tweet Robinson shared, he is expected to meet with Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif and attend a lunch hosted by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of Likud. He is also expected to attend an event put on by the party’s Tel Aviv branch.

Chikli’s invitation to Robinson sparked anger among the UK’s leading Jewish groups, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, which decried Robinson in a joint statement as “a thug who represents the very worst of Britain.”

The Likud minister, who has worked to strengthen ties with far-right parties that Israel long boycotted due to their ties to antisemitism and Nazism, defended his decision to invite Robinson and lashed out at the Board of Deputies, claiming it was “openly aligned with left-wing, woke, pro-Palestinian parties.”

Robinson, born Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, has been imprisoned five times in the last 20 years for a range of crimes — from fraud and drug offenses to, most recently, libeling a 15-year-old Syrian refugee.

He founded the EDL to protest against Islamic demonstrations in his hometown of Luton, but it soon attracted a far-right crowd as it became a nationwide movement. He has long campaigned against what he says are crimes committed by Muslim migrants.

Robinson found himself in court once again on Monday as he was being prosecuted for refusing to divulge the pin to his phone to counter-terrorism police last year, which he was required to do under Britain’s Terrorism Act.

Police officers who had stopped him in July, 2024, said he had been acting suspiciously, giving “short, vague replies,” and making “no eye contact.”

If found guilty, Robinson faces a sentence of up to three months in prison or a £2,500 (NIS 11,000) fine.

AFP contributed to this report.