Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of Likud met in Vienna with senior officials from Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ), which has Nazi roots. The meeting was the first of its kind between an Israeli minister and senior representatives of the party, which remains officially boycotted by Israel.
Over the past two years, Chikli has maintained contacts with Harald Vilimsky, a senior figure in the European Patriots political movement who is affiliated with Austria’s Freedom Party. The meeting followed an unprecedented speech in September by FPÖ chairman Herbert Kickl, in which he apologized to the Jewish people for his party’s past, announced its full adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and expressed support for relocating Austria’s embassy to Jerusalem.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli of Likud met in Vienna with senior officials from Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ)
(Photo: Uriel Greenberg)
Chikli described the speech as a “crossing of the Rubicon” in the party’s relations with Israel and the Jewish people.
During his visit, Chikli met with Walter Rosenkranz, Austria’s parliamentary speaker and the FPÖ’s second-ranking figure. It was the first meeting of its kind involving an Israeli minister. Vilimsky, Knesset member Ariel Kallner and Jewish community president Eli Rosen also attended.
Following the meeting, the group toured the Austrian parliament building. During the discussions, Chikli addressed the rapprochement he has pursued with senior Freedom Party officials over the past two years and the trust that has developed between the sides.
The minister expressed confidence that, as with the relationships he has established with Spain’s Vox party and France’s National Rally (RN), the current cooperation also would “bear fruit.”
The participants discussed expanding Holocaust education in Austria’s school system and promoting joint programs to combat antisemitism. Chikli emphasized the importance of building bridges between nations through education and highlighted shared values of nationalism, community and family as a foundation for cooperation.
“Without Chikli’s efforts and the relationships he has built over the past several years, this would not have happened,” Vilimsky said, thanking the minister.
Later that day, Chikli also participated in a ceremony marking Kristallnacht in the Austrian city of Graz, alongside an FPÖ representative. Chikli coordinated the meetings with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and also met with Israel’s ambassador to Austria, David Roet, during the visit.
“I was pleased to make a first-of-its-kind official visit to the Austrian parliament and meet with senior officials of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ),” Chikli said in a statement.
“The visit marks the culmination of an intensive diplomatic process I have led over the past two years, which reached its peak with the historic speech by party chairman Herbert Kickl. This is part of a broader diplomatic shift I have led throughout my term, during which Israel broke a decades-long boycott and opened dialogue with Europe’s sovereignist right-wing parties.”
Chikli added: “Understanding the challenge posed by the progressive left and Islamo-Nazism is the foundation of our partnership with Europe’s sovereignist conservative parties. They represent the last opportunity for nation-states to stop the tide before reaching the point of no return.”
Asked why he had chosen to hold such a meeting while Israel was governed by a caretaker administration, his spokesperson replied that Chikli had “been working on this for two years.”
Harald Vilimsky, deputy chairman of the European Patriots party, welcomed the visit.
“It was a great honor and pleasure to host Minister Chikli here in Austria,” he said. “He is a man of far-reaching diplomatic vision who knows how to forge connections and build cooperation between conservative center-right parties on the international stage. Under his leadership, the fight against extremism, Islamism and antisemitism is in good hands, and there is no doubt that we can achieve significant results.”