Sweden Democrats third most pro-Israel party in the EU

Historically, the Liberals (formerly known as the People’s Party) have often been considered the most explicitly pro-Israel party in Sweden – closely followed by the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats.

According to the lobby group European Coalition for Israel, the Sweden Democrats are now the most pro-Israel party in Sweden – and the SD is also the third most pro-Israel party in the EU.

The “ranking” is based on how pro-Israel the various parties have acted and voted in the EU Parliament over the past year. The organization notes that the Spanish right-wing party Vox scored the highest, followed by the Czech Republic’s Civic Forum – but then comes the Sweden Democrats with 95.90 points out of a possible 100.

Pro-Palestinian left-wing parties of various kinds are at the bottom.

Bra jobbat @weimers! Sverigedemokraterna är det tredje mest Israelvänliga partiet i EU-parlamentet. https://t.co/yXaPIaNM8W

— Richard Jomshof (@RichardJomshof) April 21, 2024

Condemned by Israel

Swedish Democrat MEP Charlie Weimers boasts third place on X and says he is “proud that the Sweden Democrats are the third most pro-Israel party in the entire European Parliament”, supported by SD leader Richard Jomshof.

“Libertarian-Conservative” online newspaper Fria Tider notes that the SD has long tried to strengthen relations with Israel – but that it has been given the cold shoulder and dismissed as a “Nazi” or “anti-Semitic” party that Israeli government politicians do not want to associate or even be photographed with. SD politicians have also made several trips to Israel to promote relations and increase Israeli acceptance of the Swedish party.

“Charlie Weimers and Richard Jomshof visited Israel together last year in great secrecy. Since that trip, the two top politicians have been particularly pro-Israel in their communications, displaying Israeli flags and the like – not least during the ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed 34,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children”, Fria Tider notes.