Abstract
This article analyzes the way European nationalist-populist movements and leaders, such as Victor Orbán (Hungaria), Marine le Pen (France), Geert Wilders (the Netherlands), Heinrich Strache (Austria), and Philip de Winter (Belgium), legitimize their nationalist agenda by appropriating and identifying with Jewish issues, such as the fight against antisemitism, solidarity with Israel and Zionist nationalism, and by positing the concept of a Judeo-Christian tradition. It discerns a remarkable turn, as before the Second World War, nationalism was usually legitimized through antisemitism and argues that in this turn the Netherlands, with politicians like Pim Fortuyn and Geert Wilders, has taken the lead. It concludes that the electoral successes that these movements have obtained by identifying with Jewish issues point to a change in the popular perception of Jews.
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Notes
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Wertheim, D.J. (2017). Geert Wilders and the Nationalist-Populist Turn Toward the Jews in Europe. In: Wertheim, D. (eds) The Jew as Legitimation . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42601-3_16
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