The German flag flies in front of the building housing the Bundestag in Berlin. (Credit: Archive photo David Gannon/AFP)
On Sept. 6, 2026, the AfD won 43.8 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a state in eastern Germany. With 39 of 83 seats, it narrowly missed an absolute majority but achieved its best regional result ever, a record for the German far right since World War II. Xenophobic, fueled by völkisch nationalism and marked by explicit or coded antisemitism, the AfD nonetheless presents itself, at least in part, as pro-Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel, portraying the country as an ally against Islam.This marks a significant shift for the party, founded in 2013 and first entering the Bundestag in September 2017. It has never developed a comprehensive or stable doctrine on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Initially silent, it later embraced the Jewish state’s security model before adopting a strongly pro-Israel position in parliament....
On Sept. 6, 2026, the AfD won 43.8 percent of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, a state in eastern Germany. With 39 of 83 seats, it narrowly missed an absolute majority but achieved its best regional result ever, a record for the German far right since World War II. Xenophobic, fueled by völkisch nationalism and marked by explicit or coded antisemitism, the AfD nonetheless presents itself, at least in part, as pro-Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel, portraying the country as an ally against Islam.This marks a significant shift for the party, founded in 2013 and first entering the Bundestag in September 2017. It has never developed a comprehensive or stable doctrine on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Initially silent, it later embraced the Jewish state’s security model before adopting a strongly pro-Israel position in...
Israeli army continues explosions in Mansouri, strikes in Nabatieh district