For Jews voting in Europe, there are no good choices

Pinchas Goldschmidt is head of the Conference of European Rabbis. 

As a Swiss citizen, I won’t be voting in the upcoming the European Parliament election. But to some extent, at this moment, being a European from a non-EU country, and thus not participating, is a relief.

That’s because as a Jew and a rabbi, I, like many of my coreligionists, face a growing dilemma in my political allegiances: Across Europe, mainstream and left-leaning parties that have traditionally been strong supporters of democracy and minority rights have grown more critical of Israel and more sympathetic to the Continent’s growing antisemitism. Meanwhile, right-leaning parties, including some on the far right that have historically espoused antisemitism, are now more supportive of Israel and are taking a strong stand against Islamic extremism — albeit one often infused with racism and xenophobia.

As European Jews, we’re really faced with a conundrum.

This isn’t unlike how American Jews remain torn between President Joe Biden — whose Democratic Party has long rallied for minorities and equality but now tolerates campus protestors calling for the end of Israel — and Donald Trump, who espouses antidemocratic rhetoric but openly calls out Hamas for its terrorism and promotes cracking down on campus demonstrations.

In Europe, however, this dilemma isn’t something we can ignore. It points once again to how our very future is at stake, and how our place in Europe is increasingly precarious.

Over the last five decades, Europe’s Jewish population has declined about 60 percent, and is likely to shrink even further. Jews make up such a small minority of the Continent’s population, and tend to be concentrated in certain cities. So much so that in a recent poll, 59 percent of Poles and 41 percent of Germans revealed  they’d never personally met a Jewish person.

Antisemitism has also exploded, with incidents rising manyfold since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel — this despite the 2021 adoption of an EU-wide strategy to combat antisemitism.

In the current environment, security costs for Jewish communities are now astronomical, with synagogues, schools and other institutions becoming more reliant on government contributions to cover the expense. For example, the Swiss government recently announced it would double its funding for securing religious communities, and 32 out of the 34 communities and institutions that qualify for such government support are Jewish.

Amid these changes, there’s also been a shift in the political leanings of these communities. Jews across Europe have traditionally supported mainstream or left-leaning parties, avoiding those on the far right due to their ties to historical antisemitism. But over the last decade, many of these far-right parties began making efforts to denounce these connections, also capitalizing on a perceived shared interest in combating Islamic terrorism to make inroads with Jewish voters.

As far back as 2018, some Jews in Germany had already founded a chapter of Alternative for Germany (AfD), a far-right party including members with histories of antisemitism and supporting Hitler. In France, opposition politician Marine Le Pen has distanced herself from her father’s outspoken trivialization of the Holocaust. And many Jews in the Netherlands were relieved when the far-right Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom won the national election in December, seeing him as committed to cracking down on antisemitism coming from local Muslims.

The leaders of many of these parties have now forged closer relationships with Israel as well. Wilders has talked about his time volunteering on a kibbutz, and Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a vocal supporter of both Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netantyahu, voting against a U.N. call to implement a cease-fire in Gaza.

Many European Jews see a strong Israel, supported by allies in Europe and elsewhere, as essential to guaranteeing the security of Jews worldwide. But trusting such parties and politicians isn’t easy — and signs of backfire are already showing: Recently, the AfD’s lead candidate in the EU elections proclaimed Nazi SS agents shouldn’t automatically be considered criminals. And Björn Höcke, another well-known AfD member, was fined after using the Nazi-associated slogan “Everything for Germany.”

Björn Höcke, another well-known AfD member, was fined after using the Nazi-associated slogan “Everything for Germany.” | Pool photo by Filip Singer via Getty Images

The fact that the coalition of far-right parties in the  Parliament recently kicked the AfD out for such incidents, and that the German government prosecuted Höcke are positive signs that such rhetoric is no longer acceptable. But how can we trust they won’t turn on us?

And if, as Jews, some of us do vote for far-right parties, are we essentially giving their past or future antisemitism a kosher stamp?

Moreover, despite what Jewish voters — a tiny minority — actually decide when casting their ballots this week, it looks like the far right is set to become more dominant in the Parliament. Analysts are predicting they could secure nearly 30 percent of all votes across the 27-country bloc. Can we really live with that?

What does it mean for us, as a long persecuted religious and cultural minority, to rely on politicians who are openly racist and xenophobic toward Muslims, and increasingly want to trade the EU’s unity for national isolationism? After all, Europe is best defined as a collection of different minorities, ethnicities and nationalities, and that has — for at least the last several decades — helped guarantee Jews are among those who have a place here.

Let’s not forget the uncertainty surrounding the radical right’s position on Russia either — another relevant topic for Jews, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to forge tighter alliances with Iran and terrorist entities threatening Israel. Will more of this group follow the lead of Le Pen and Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and begin supporting Ukraine? Or, will we see more of them go the way of Orbán and seemingly accept Russia’s aggression?

Furthermore, as Europe’s right has moved more toward the far right, the vector of Europe’s left has changed too, with part of this political spectrum on track toward chaotic Trotsky-like ideals, calling for a constant state of revolution rather than stable democracy. Also disturbing to Jews is the fact that too many of today’s left-leaning parties and politicians in Europe are silent about antisemitism and growing Islamic extremism, and seek to weaken and isolate Israel.

Thus, as Jews, we feel we can no longer rely on the supposed mainstream embodiment of European democracy’s ideals to support our safety or destiny. There is, no doubt, much uncertainty. However, one thing is clear: We fear for the future of Europe and our place in it as a minority, no matter how we vote and no matter who wins.