In families of Israeli hostages, unease about the presence of an Israeli minister next week at a conference in the European Parliament around the International Memorial Day of the Holocaust. Sent earlier this week letter of protest They call on the organizers to withdraw the invitation.
Amichai Chikli, the right-wing-radical minister for DiaSpora cases, will give a speech at the conference organized next Tuesday, organized by two members of the Christian Democratic European People’s Party from Austria and Bulgaria, Lukas Mandl and Andrey Kovatchev. The official EU commemoration of the Holocaust takes place a day later.
The signatories of the letter, who was also sent to parliamentary chairman Roberta Metsola, consider the minister a “unsuitable representative for such an important occasion”, where it is all about “commemorating the atrocities of the Holocaust and promoting human values dignity and justice ”.
The call was signed by the families of 41 Israelis who were held hostage on October 7, 2023 after the Hamas attack. In addition, the names of 32 representatives of the Jewish community in Europe are under the document.
Controversy
The letter points out that Chikli, who is a member of the Likud party to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also belongs, was reportedly one of the ministers who last week against the file between Israel and Hamas voted. “His opposition to this agreement is in stark contrast to the values of empathy and solidarity that should lead us, in particular on the Holocaust thinking day.”
It is also mentioned that Chikli’s close ties with controversial politicians in Europe “question his credibility.” For example, he expressed support for French politician Marine Le Pen and the Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, “whose rhetoric and policy regularly undermine the fight against anti -Semitism and hatred.”
The signatories also blame Chikli to support the ‘expulsion of population groups from both Gaza and South Libanon’. “His participation in this event threatens the credibility of the efforts of the European Parliament to undermine anti -Semitism and hatred,” said the letter.
In a response to questions from news channel Euronews Let Mandl, one of the organizers of the meeting, know how to withdraw the invitation. “I don’t interfere with domestic politics in Israel. I have welcomed every representative of Israel (…); And I will continue to do that, “he says.
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