A powerful coalition of European conservatives just delivered a thundering rebuke to the continent’s leftist governments, formally recognizing Israel’s rights in Judea and Samaria and adopting the international definition of antisemitism in a move that’s sending shockwaves through Brussels.
Patriots for Europe, now the third-largest group in the European Parliament with 86 seats across 14 national delegations, announced the blockbuster endorsement Wednesday in Strasbourg, France. The group slammed European boycott campaigns and anti-settlement sanctions as antisemitism driven by “blatant double standards.”
The timing couldn’t be more significant. The declaration comes as twelve nations, including France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, recently demanded Israel halt construction in the historic Biblical heartland. U.K. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband escalated tensions further by announcing a planned embargo on West Bank imports from Israeli settlements.
Jerusalem isn’t taking it quietly. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar issued a stark warning: “If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went further, condemning the U.K. government on X and demanding: “Expel the British ambassador tonight! We will not be a doormat trampled by an antisemitic government … trying to save itself from economic and social decline.”
Patriots for Europe was formed in June 2024 by then-Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Czech Republic’s Andrej Babis, and Austria’s Herbert Kickl. The group is led by Jordan Bardella of France’s National Rally, which rallies supporters under the banner “Make Europe Great Again.” The coalition fights for national sovereignty, strict border control, and traditional values while rejecting Brussels’ overreach.
The group’s formal adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance charter against antisemitism adds institutional weight to its pro-Israel stance. It’s a direct counter to hostile diplomatic pressure building from Western Europe’s leftist governments.
Britain’s current posture toward the Jewish state follows a troubling historical pattern. Declassified records reveal that British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden deliberately blocked a secret U.S. rescue mission aimed at saving concentration camp victims in 1944, reportedly fearing survivors would emigrate to their ancestral homeland. Britain shut Palestine’s doors on fleeing Holocaust victims, blockaded survivor ships like the Exodus 1947, and even commanded Arab forces during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.
That dark history makes Patriots for Europe’s stand all the more striking. While Western European governments lean into anti-Israel policies, a rising conservative movement is pushing back with real political power.
The European Parliament’s third-largest bloc now stands firmly with Israel. Allies in the U.S. Congress are threatening economic consequences for anti-Israel actions. And Jerusalem is making clear it won’t accept the role of punching bag for nations struggling with their own crises.
For Israel’s critics in Europe, an electoral reckoning may be coming.
