Israeli settlers, accompanied by the far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, raise a large Israeli flag during a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new settlement on Mount Tarousa, near the city of Doura, west of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on June 16, 2026. (Credit: Hazem Bader/AFP)
For many years, a segment of the Western far right has viewed Israel as the embodiment of its worldview: an ethnoreligious state engaged in an existential struggle against an enemy perceived as “Arab Islamist.”Its affinity with Tel Aviv is presented as proof of opposition to antisemitism, even though antisemitism remains a constitutive element of its ideological DNA.But this convergence is showing signs of strain, particularly in the United States, Israel’s principal ally. A portion of the Republican electorate, including some of its most conservative currents, is criticizing the prominence of the Jewish state in U.S. foreign policy in the name of the “America First” principle championed by Donald Trump. Missed this piece? Messianism: The tree that hides the forest of Israeli radicalization In an interview with L’Orient-Le Jour,...
For many years, a segment of the Western far right has viewed Israel as the embodiment of its worldview: an ethnoreligious state engaged in an existential struggle against an enemy perceived as “Arab Islamist.”Its affinity with Tel Aviv is presented as proof of opposition to antisemitism, even though antisemitism remains a constitutive element of its ideological DNA.But this convergence is showing signs of strain, particularly in the United States, Israel’s principal ally. A portion of the Republican electorate, including some of its most conservative currents, is criticizing the prominence of the Jewish state in U.S. foreign policy in the name of the “America First” principle championed by Donald Trump. Missed this piece? Messianism: The tree that hides the forest of Israeli radicalization In an interview with...
