We had talked about the connection of Steve Bannon, who wants to direct the U.S.’s Republican Party to a more rightist (and more pro-Israel) line, with the racist, anti-migrant, anti-Islam parties in European Union countries. We had said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Bannon defines these connections as the “Global Tea Party.” We had mentioned that the Global Tea Party’s common characteristic is that it is pro-Israel. Nigel Farage, former leader of the far-right United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a symbolic figure of Brexit, is one of Bannon’s closest friends. Farage had also attended Trump’s presidential election campaign in 2016. Bannon takes great pleasure in underlining that the London office of Breibart News, which he directs, played an important role in the U.K.’s Brexit campaign to leave the EU. And Farage, always mentions Breibart’s support with praise.
There is strong support for Israel among the U.S.’s Evangelist Christians as well. Vice President Mike Pence represents the peak of the political power reached by the pro-Israel Evangelist Christians within the Trump administration. All these groups have been effective in Trump’s Jerusalem decision.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) considers Bannon its closest ally in the U.S. Bannon and his friend Sebastian Gorka, who the liberal Jews in the U.S. accuse of being “anti-Semitic” and “white racists,” always protected the ZOA. Gorka was also one of Trump’s advisers. The ZOA does not care about the anti-Semitic white racist groups in the U.S. It sees no harm in this as long as they do not harm Israel’s interests. Yet, since the liberal Jews prefer to live in the U.S., they are very sensitive and feel disturbed about the white racist groups. This is the most obvious difference between the ZOA and liberal Jews. The ZOA uses the power it has in the U.S. for Benjamin Netanyahu alone.
A similar situation applies to the anti-migrant, racist, anti-Islam parties on a rise in EU countries. The Netanyahu government finds the liberal Jews in Europe more dangerous than the anti-Semitic groups. As the anti-Semitic and racist groups disturbing the Jews living in Europe will encourage migration, it could even be said to be beneficial. Migration out of Israel, its increasingly aging population and decreasing labor force constitutes a security problem for Israel. Yet, the population of Palestinians living under occupation is on a rise. Hence, the Netanyahu government is concerned about Jewish migration to Israel stopping.
Israel is also against the increase of the Muslim population within the EU. Former MOSSAD Chief Efraim Halevy talks about how he is disturbed by the increasing Muslim population in Europe in his memoire titled, “The Man in the Dark.” Halevy drawing attention to the high birth rates among the Muslims in Europe, warns that the Muslim population may soon reach 10 percent.
According to Halevy, the increasing trend in the Muslim population in Europe is a matter the continent needs to tackle with great care. In his memoire, Halevy says: “Will Turkey’s EU membership increase the likelihood of controlling terrorism born and raised in the East, or will it largely increase the danger the free world is facing and offer Trojan Horse-like options for terrorists? These are extremely serious questions and they have no simple and clear answers.” The anti-Turkey, anti-Islam and anti-migrant discourse and actions in EU countries seem to overlap with Israel’s migration policies. No wonder that the UKIP in the U.K., the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Germany and Party for Freedom in the Netherlands show they are pro-Israel at every opportunity.
