Al Jazeera Discovers 'Far Right' in Dutch Election, Misses 'Far Right' in Israeli Government
Al Jazeera's latest dispatch highlights the 'knife-edge' Dutch elections, fretting over Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party as a 'litmus test for the far right.' The article notes his 'anti-Islam' stance, a perfectly valid concern. Yet, somehow, the 'far right' label often gets lost in translation when discussing, say, Itamar Ben-Gvir , Israel's proudly ultranationalist National Security Minister,
or the broader extremist elements within Netanyahu's governing coalition. (Where was the 'litmus test' headline then?) It appears the 'far right' is only a problem when it's not politically convenient to ignore. While Wilders campaigns on anti-Islam rhetoric, Ben-Gvir openly calls for restricting Palestinian rights and expanding settlements. One might wonder if the concern for extremism is
universal, or if it's merely a rhetorical tool used to frame specific narratives, conveniently overlooking figures who align with allied states. It's almost as if some 'far right' figures are deemed acceptable and others, well, not so much.