Minister Chikli Calls Out Haaretz for Slandering Israel as Antisemitism Conference Convenes
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli opened Israel’s International Conference on Combating Antisemitism on Thursday by lashing out at the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz, accusing it of fueling controversy around the event and spreading lies that harm the country’s image abroad.
“The charges against you were led, first and foremost, by Haaretz newspaper, a far-left and pro-Palestinian newspaper that … has become a beacon of lies, an anti-Zionist propaganda tool,” Chikli told a crowd gathered at the Jerusalem International Convention Center. “Haaretz and others like them do not represent the Jewish people.”
His remarks came as the conference opened under scrutiny following the inclusion of far-right European lawmakers from France, Spain, Sweden, and Hungary. Several prominent figures withdrew in protest. Chikli defended the controversial invitees, thanking them for coming to Israel “during wartime” and apologizing “for the lies spread against them by those who slandered the State of Israel worldwide.”
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Chikli framed the conference as part of a broader battle against what he described as a mounting global threat posed by radical Islam. Citing data from the University of Maryland’s Global Terrorism Database, he claimed that more than 90% of global terror attacks since 2000 were carried out by radical Islamist groups. “The vast majority of violent anti-Semitic attacks in Europe are carried out by radical Islamists,” he said.
He described attacks on Jewish targets in France and the Netherlands, including the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl by men he identified as Islamist immigrants. He also argued that Hamas’s ideology reflects a blend of Islamic fanaticism and Nazi racial theory. “It was pure anti-Semitism,” Chikli said of Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel. “A fusion of radical Islamic fanaticism with Nazi racial doctrines.”
The minister accused Western societies of moral decay, arguing that institutions such as the United Nations and American universities have capitulated to Islamist groups that rebrand themselves with respectable-sounding names. He named CAIR and SJP—referring to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Students for Justice in Palestine—as examples.
Chikli praised US President Donald Trump for taking “real, concrete action” against antisemitism, including expelling Hamas supporters and pressuring universities. He contrasted that with what he called the weak approach of the Biden administration.
