How far has the normalization of far-right politics gone? And what do contacts between Netanyahu’s camp and the AfD have to do with it?

I’m speaking with David Issacharoff. He is an editor and writer for the English edition of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, where he covers Israeli politics and society, relations between Israel and Europe, antisemitism, and right-wing populism. He also writes for German-speaking audiences, most recently a guest essay for Der Spiegel on contacts between Netanyahu’s circle and Germany’s AfD.

Israel votes on October 27, 2026, three years after the October 7, 2023 attacks. We talk about the election campaign, the question of political accountability, and whether the opposition has accepted the ethnic rules set by the right. We also ask what these developments mean for Europe, and where comparisons between Israel and Germany reach their limits.

Guest: David Issacharoff

Host: Shai Hoffmann 

Links: 

https://www.instagram.com/davidiss1/

https://x.com/davidiss

https://www.haaretz.com/ty-WRITER/00000187-d6b9-d6a1-ad87-feb955650000

https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/israel-wie-benjamin-netanyahu-den-kontakt-zur-afd-sucht-a-96560efa-ad3e-4e92-be61-a8f25df80a59

https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/israel-regierung-beschliesst-offenbar-boykott-gegen-linksliberale-zeitung-haaretz-a-9a496ffd-e4e3-4993-b49d-fe6ac0edc3b5

https://internationalepolitik.de/de/strategische-vertuschung

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