Israel’s Right-wing Populists: The European Connection

Using Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel as a case study, this article adds a crucial layer to the study of Israel’s radical right populism. First, we discuss the concept of populism, claiming that populism is prevalent in Israeli politics because conflicts concerning the inclusion/exclusion of subordinate social groups have marked Israeli society since its inception. Second, we expose the depth of Israel’s relationships with Europe’s populists and Eurosceptics and argue that Netanyahu’s Israel shares common values with these actors. Finally, we claim that Israel uses populism and Euroscepticism as a foreign policy instrument in order to achieve specific political objectives.