When a Nazi Past Becomes Acceptable: From Lehi’s German Overture to Israel’s Embrace of Austria’s Far Right

Posted on by Elijah J Magnier

By Elijah J. Magnier –

Israel’s present leadership appears to have established a remarkable moral hierarchy. A European party descended from former Nazis can be welcomed into political dialogue if it supports Israel, opposes Muslim immigration and promises to move its country’s embassy to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, governments, international organisations and Jewish critics who challenge Israeli conduct towards the Palestinians can be denounced as hostile or antisemitic.

This is not simply diplomatic pragmatism. It reflects a longstanding political tradition in which ideological pedigree becomes secondary to usefulness. The decisive question is no longer what a movement believed, whom it persecuted or which historical forces produced it. The question is whether it supports the political objectives of the Israel.

That logic has an uncomfortable precedent. In 1940–41, while European Jews were being persecuted under Nazi occupation, the Zionist underground organisation Lehi offered to establish cooperation with Nazi Germany against Britain. More than eight decades later, Israel’s government is moving towards official dialogue with Austria’s Freedom Party, the FPÖ, whose institutional ancestry includes former Nazis and SS officers.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today.

Subscribe
Advertisements
Advertisements
Advertisements

Published by Elijah J Magnier

Elijah J. Magnier is a veteran war correspondent and analyst specialising in military affairs, intelligence, strategic affairs and political risk. He has spent nearly four decades living and reporting inside countries at war, often from the front lines, while developing long-standing access to political leaders, military and intelligence officials, diplomats, armed non-state actors and communities directly affected by conflict. His field experience includes the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the Iran–Iraq War, the Lebanese Civil War, the 1991 Gulf War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, conflict in Sudan, the war in Afghanistan and Yemen, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the wars in Libya and Syria. He has lived for extended periods in Lebanon, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Syria, allowing him to follow conflicts, political transformations and regional networks beyond the limitations of short-term war reporting. His work focuses on warfare and deterrence, terrorism and counterterrorism, intelligence, political violence, armed non-state actors, regional security and the relationship between military power and political outcomes. He has also served as an adviser to the European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Iraq and Lebanon. Magnier holds a PhD in Policing and Criminal Justice from Liverpool John Moores University and an MSc in Counterterrorism Studies from the University of London. He has undertaken advanced studies in terrorism—including terrorist ideologies, financing and counterterrorism—at the University of St Andrews; terrorism and counterterrorism at Leiden University; and negotiation, including international and cross-cultural negotiation, at ESSEC Business School in Paris. His work combines sustained field access with academic analysis of war, sovereignty, deterrence and political violence.