Haaretz Today

 Given all of Wilders’ good/true/new/dear friends in the Knesset, it is no surprise they are starting to rub off on him. But with Israel’s democracy teetering on the verge of collapse, he may want to look elsewhere for political inspiration  Rachel Fink


 Like any social media influencer worth his salt, far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders announced his arrival in Tel Aviv on Sunday night with a classic “almost there photo,” featuring an aerial view of his destination as seen from his plane seat. For a caption, he chose the simple yet effective “Israel,” written in Hebrew and flanked by two heart emojis. Propaganda princess Noa Tishby would be so proud.

On Monday, Wilders’ X feed featured a cavalcade of smiling selfies with “new friend” Gila Gamliel (science and technology minister), “dear friend” Amir Ohana (speaker of the Knesset), “my friend” Israel Katz (defense minister) “true friend” Eli Cohen (energy minister) and “very, very good friend” Gideon Sa’ar (foreign minister and, apparently, Wilders’ favorite of the bunch).

There is one person who is conspicuously absent from his roster of besties: prominent settler leader Yossi Dagan, who heads the Samaria Regional Council. Dagan accompanied Wilders on his tour of the West Bank on Monday, where the pair discussed security issues from an observation point overlooking Israel. The activity was not enough to earn Dagan a friendship shoutout on Wilder’s social media. Not even so much as a repost. The omission is particularly glaring given Dutch media reports that it was Dagan who personally signed his name, along with Gamliel, to the Likud-sponsored invitation that Wilders received to visit Israel.

On the other hand, Wilders may have good reason for not wanting to publicize his meeting with Dagan. Just last week, the Dutch parliament – the very one Wilders is part of – approved a resolution calling for the European Union to impose sanctions on Dagan for “supporting violent settlers in the construction of new settlements and the expulsion of Palestinians in the West Bank.” The resolution was supported by two parties in the governing coalition: the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy and New Social Contract, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp’s party.

Complicating matters even further is a trip Veldkamp was supposed to take to Israel a couple of weeks ago, which was canceled by Sa’ar after the former said the Netherlands would honor the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Wilders, on the other hand, has said Netanyahu deserves “support and a Medal of Honor instead of an arrest warrant,” which I guess is why he gets to be Sa’ar’s very, very good friend and Veldkamp is just “a disappointment.”

It would also not be the first time Wilders tried to keep his travel itinerary under wraps. Last month, Dutch media outlet NRC reported on his plans to travel to Israel, suggesting that “given Dagan’s invitation, a stop in the settlements is likely.”

Wilders lashed out, calling the report “totally unacceptable,” accusing NRC of putting him and his security detail in danger. Social media users were quick to point out that Raymond de Roon, a lawmaker from Wilders’ own Party for Freedom, had already confirmed the plans earlier this week, stating in parliament that Wilders would be visiting Judea and Samaria in order to “orient himself on the situation on the ground.” Wilders, though, refused to be bogged down in such minutiae. He quickly announced his plans to take police action against the paper over the leak.

It’s a move taken straight from the Israeli government’s playbook: If the media insists on reporting your wrongdoings, attack the media rather than take responsibility for your actions. Given all of Wilders’ good/true/new/dear friends in the Knesset, it is no surprise they are starting to rub off on him. But with Israel’s democracy teetering on the verge of collapse, he may want to look elsewhere for political inspiration.