Israel moves towards dialogue with Austrian party founded by former Nazis

Israel is moving towards opening a dialogue with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO), founded by former Nazis, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday, according to Haaretz. Saar said Israel wanted a “substantive, open and frank dialogue” with the party, which has increasingly adopted a pro-Israel stance in recent years. On Wednesday, party leader Herbert Kickl condemned the 7 October attack and apologised “directly to Jews for Austria’s role in the Holocaust”, while seeking to establish a new relationship with Jewish communities. Kickl made the remarks in a speech at a conference at the European Parliament in Strasbourg attended by representatives of Israel’s Likud party and other European right-wing parties. The gathering focused on antisemitism and Islamism and reflected the […]