The recent visit by the senator (PL), who wore a kippah to pray at the Western Wall, a sacred site of Judaism, fulfills some political functions for the pre-candidate for the Presidency of the Republic — internal and external.
Following in the footsteps of his father, the former president (PL), Flávio joins other global leaders of the radical right, who in recent decades have been adhering to a type of strategic philo-Semitism (affection for the Jewish people).
If in the 20th century the extreme right was openly anti-Semitic, in the 21st century its leaders elected a new enemy that the United States and especially Europe must get rid of: the Arab Muslim immigrant. In this sense, the alliance with the Prime Minister and the support for Israel in the midst of .
With the trip, Flávio aligns himself with world leaders who share a similar ideology, imbued with anti-liberalism, cultural conservatism and exacerbated nationalism, and who often use populism as a method.
From Alice Weidel of the AfD in Germany to Matteo Salvini of the League in Italy, leaders of the radical right express emphatic support for Israel. This group includes the Frenchwoman, from the National Regroupment (formerly the National Front), despite the history of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has already been convicted of anti-Semitic statements.
In 2014, in an interview with the French magazine Valeurs actuelles, Le Pen made clear the reason for the strategic repositioning when trying to get closer to the Jews in the country: “I always repeat to French Jews… Not only is the National Front not your enemy, it is also, without a doubt, the best shield to protect you. It is at your side in defending our freedoms of thought and religion against the only real enemy, Islamic fundamentalism.”
Another emphatic supporter of Netanyahu’s Israel is the Hungarian Prime Minister, a fervent opponent of immigration and a great reference for the global radical right. This support comes despite previous statements by the Hungarian interpreted by many as anti-Semitic — especially the attacks on the Jewish billionaire.
Orbán and his party, Fidesz, have waged a public campaign against Hungarian-born Soros, accusing the philanthropist of funding the global left, especially through progressive NGOs, to the detriment of Hungarian sovereignty.
The conspiracy theories against the billionaire reveal an interesting facet of the radical right’s philo-Semitism: it does not seem to include all Jews. After all, secular Jews, anti-Zionists or left-wing Jews are not adored by the group.
Last week, before speaking at the Annual Conference to Combat Anti-Semitism, Flávio Bolsonaro met with politicians from European radical right parties, such as Portuguese deputy Pedro dos Santos Frazão, vice-president of , and Spanish MEP Jorge Buxadé, of .
Bolsonaro’s son, accompanied by his brother, the impeached federal deputy, also met with Axel Wahnish, ambassador from Javier Milei’s Argentina to Israel.
The trip comes on the heels of the senator’s previous efforts to connect with the radical right around the world. In November, . He did not meet with President Nayib Bukele, but managed to reach an agenda with the Minister of Public Security and Justice, Gustavo Villatoro. At the end of the year, he visited Eduardo in the United States, but there was no meeting with the government.
The visit to Israel also allows Flávio to consolidate himself as an opposition to the left, which denounces what it sees as a genocide in Gaza, and to the , which openly condemns Netanyahu’s actions. In a lecture this Tuesday (27), the senator stated that the PT member is anti-Semitic, echoing a frequent accusation from the radical right.
On another front, Flávio’s images in Israel, such as the new baptism in the Jordan River, seek to reinforce his ties with neo-Pentecostals. Especially in recent decades, wings of the evangelical church have been assimilating Jewish elements, such as the Star of David and the shofar, a wind instrument now present in many services.
Despite the apparent contradiction, since Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the absorption of these elements makes sense in the context of Christian Zionism: the belief that the Jewish people have the divine right to inhabit the land that today corresponds to Israel, and that this occupation needs to happen for the second coming of Christ.
In this sense, Flávio’s adherence to these symbols, frequently present in Bolsonarist demonstrations, does not seem like an attempt to win the vote of Jews, a minority in Brazil, but rather to move forward.
The worship of these elements and the mentions of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, very present in Bolsonarism, also serve to offer voters a shared past of glory, with an allusion to the Judeo-Christian civilization, which would have been destroyed by the progressive forces of contemporary times.
“You belong to a political community that was once one of winners. Religion is a detail. It is not a religious discourse. It is a discourse of belonging to a place that has to be rescued”, said Michel Gherman, professor of sociology at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and Jew, . “The issue of Solomon’s kingdom is not religious. It is military, political, expansionist. It is a mistake for us to think that we are talking about religion. We are talking about politics.”
