Judy Maltz Ally of Major Jewish Group Joins Far-right European Bloc
A key institute run by the American Jewish Committee, one of the largest Jewish advocacy organizations in the world, continues to maintain ties with the leader of a Danish party that recently joined a new European-wide far-right alliance.
The alliance – which includes Matteo Salvini’s anti-immigrant League party in Italy, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally in France and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) – was formed in anticipation of the European Union parliamentary elections later this month.
On April 8, it was announced that the new alliance would also include the Danish People’s party, which had until then belonged to a more moderate right-wing bloc in the European Parliament. Two days later, the AJC Transatlantic Institute, the organization’s Brussels-based office, hosted a talk show with Anders Vistisen, the leader of this Danish party.
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The fact that the AJC did not immediately distance itself from Vistisen has sparked surprise – especially considering that the Jewish organization has come out strongly against the German party that is part of this new alliance.
The Transatlantic Institute, headed by Daniel Schwammenthal, has hosted numerous events with the Danish parliamentarian in recent years.
Asked for comment, Kenneth Bandler, the spokesman of the AJC, said his organization was looking into the matter. “AJC is now evaluating, in consultation with Denmark’s Jewish community, whether any adjustments in interactions with the DPP should be considered,” he wrote in an email.
“For AJC, the leading global Jewish advocacy group, with offices and representatives stationed in capital cities across Europe, engaging key political actors across Europe is imperative. However, the rise of certain far-right parties has made this vital work ever more challenging, and, where necessary, AJC has adjusted its approach in several European countries,” Bandler added.
He noted that Vistisen had been invited to participate in the event hosted by the Transatlantic Institute, which was devoted to the EU’spolicy on Iran, “long before” the announcement of a new European far-right alliance. He had been invited, Bandler said, in his capacity as vice chair of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee and as a member of the more moderate parliamentary bloc.
In a statement issued in September 2017, Deidre Berger, the director of the AJC Berlin office denounced AfD, the far-right German party that is also part of the new alliance, as “anti-European, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim.”
“Some AfD leaders have expressed strong support for Israel,” he said. “However, German Jewish leaders have consistently called on community members to beware of the party as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, outwardly friendly toward Israel and hardline on issues of terrorism, but unable or unwilling to deal decisively with anti-Semitism even within its midst.”
AJC was one of several mainstream Jewish organizations to issue a statement during the Israeli election campaign condemning Otzma Yehudit, a far-right party founded by followers by the late Meir Kahane, a racist rabbi. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had encouraged the national religious party to form an alliance with Otzma Yehudit so that right-wing votes would not go to waste.
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