Political parties whose policies involve antisemitism

Antisemitic political party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Historically, many European political parties have included antisemitic elements in their platforms, but the term "antisemitic political party" is most specifically used to refer to a series of political organizations that made the "Jewish question" a central political issue to mobilize voters, particularly in Europe (especially German Empire) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Nazi Party was in power in Germany from 1933 to 1945 and was historically the most far-right antisemitic political party, which eventually led to the Holocaust. Even today, there are political parties whose policies involve antisemitism in Europe, the Middle East, Japan or elsewhere.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

In Germany

The term "antisemitic parties" (German: Antisemitenparteien) refers to several political parties in the German Empire (1871–1918) that established antisemitism as a core element of their party platform. Although they succeeded in winning a number of constituencies, they remained politically insignificant overall. These parties were heavily focused on economic policy and were primarily supported by Protestants in rural regions.

The individual antisemitic parties were successful in various regions and occasionally cooperated within the Reichstag. Following the 1893 German federal election, they formed a parliamentary group consisting of 16 deputies for the first time.^[7]

From 1903 to 1918, the Economic Union (Wirtschaftliche Vereinigung) served as a parliamentary group that unified these deputies alongside other independent representatives.

The following are classified as antisemitic parties:

German Social Party (Deutschsoziale Partei), founded in 1889.
German Reform Party (German: Deutsche Reformpartei), founded in 1890 (known as the Antisemitische Volkspartei until 1893).
German Social Reform Party (German: Deutschsoziale Reformpartei), a merger of the two aforementioned parties from 1894 to 1900.
Christian Social Party (German: Christlich-soziale Partei), founded in 1878.

Other parties also held antisemitic positions (such as the German Conservative Party from 1892 onwards) or adopted antisemitic rhetoric after 1918. While additional parties may have had antisemites within their ranks or shared specific views with the antisemitic parties, they are generally not classified as part of this group.

The Jewish German–American political theorist Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) wrote regarding these parties:

What they sought was not a revolutionary reorganization of society, but the destruction of the political structure through a party; not, or at least not exclusively, the elimination of the Jews, but the 'instrument of antisemitism' for the elimination of the state as embodied in the nation-state."^[8]

Other regions

Iran

The Principalists is dominant conservative political faction in Iran, have been characterized by scholars as promoting antisemitic ideologies under the guise of anti-Zionism. While officially distinguishing between Judaism and the "Zionist regime", the faction has frequently utilized classical antisemitic tropes and Holocaust denial as tools of statecraft.^[9]

During the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a prominent figure in the Principalist camp (especially "Deviant current"), the Iranian government organized the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust in 2006, which invited numerous international Holocaust deniers. This event was analyzed by historian Meir Litvak as a systematic effort to delegitimize the State of Israel by attacking the historical reality of the Holocaust, thereby blending political anti-Zionism with racial and religious antisemitism.^[10]

Japan

Japanese fascist or para-fascist parties in the 1930s to early 1940s, including Shakai Taishuto (since 1938), the Great Japan Youth Party, and Tōhōkai, were influenced by Germany's National Socialism. Their agitation was often mixed with anti-Semitic rhetoric.^[11]

In 1989, the Global Restoration Party [ja], dubbed "antisemitic political party", was founded. The party criticized Jews in 28 categories in the election papers of the 1992 Japanese House of Councillors election. However, the party has practically ceased operations since 2013.^[6]^[12]

The major politicians of the far-right ultraconservative Sanseitō party, founded in 2020, use antisemitic rhetoric, highlighting and condemning the conflict between "Judeo-Christian" and "Japanese" civilizations.^[13] That party claims that "Jewish international financial capital" has "effectively controlled Japan and targeted it for centuries".^[14]

Lebanon

Palestine

While the 1988 Hamas charter was widely described as antisemitic,^[15] Hamas's 2017 charter^[16] removed the antisemitic language and declared Zionists, not Jews, the targets of their struggle.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20] Some sources maintain its condemnation of Zionists is antisemitic.^[21]^[19]

Yemen

The Houthi movement's official slogan, displayed on their flag, reads "God is great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam".

List of political parties

Neo-Nazi political parties outside Germany after 1945 do not add to the list unless they have a significant level of political influence; see list of neo-Nazi organizations.

Historical and current parties in Germany

German Empire: German Conservative Party, Christian Social Party, German Social Party, German Social Reform Party, German Reform Party
Weimar Republic: German Socialist Party, German National People's Party,^[22]^[23] German Workers' Party, National Socialist German Workers' Party, German Social Party, German Völkisch Freedom Party
West Germany: Socialist Reich Party, Deutsche Reichspartei
Since 1990: National Democratic Party of Germany

Current parties of the other regions

France: Action Française^[24]
Iran: Principlists^{[n 1]}
Japan: Sanseitō^[13]
Lebanon: Hezbollah^[25]
Palestine: Hamas
Russia: Rodina^[26]
United Kingdom: National Front,^[27] British National Party
Yemen: Houthis^[28]^[29]

Historical parties of the other regions

While some non-Nazi fascist parties did not initially prioritize antisemitism, several adopted it as a core ideological element during the mid-to-late 1930s, often coinciding with closer alignment with Nazi Germany.

Austria: Christian Social Party,^[30]^[31] Greater German People's Party
Belgium: Rexist Party (since 1937)^[32]
Croatia: Ustaše (since 1936)^[33]
Egypt: Young Egypt Party
France: Croix-de-Feu,^[34] Mouvement Franciste, French National-Collectivist Party, Revolutionary Social Movement, National Popular Rally, Union for the Defense of Tradesmen and Artisans
Hungary: Arrow Cross Party^[35]
Iran: Nation Party of Iran^[36]
Italy: National Fascist Party (since 1938), Republican Fascist Party^[37]^[38]
Japan: Shakai Taishūtō (since 1938),^[11] Great Japan Youth Party,^[11] Tōhōkai,^[11] Global Restoration Party [ja]^[6]
Poland: National Socialist Workers' Party
Romania: Democratic Peasants' Party, Iron Guard^[39]
Russia: Union of the Russian People^[40]
Spain: Juntas Castellanas de Actuación Hispánica^[41]
United Kingdom: British Union of Fascists (since 1936)
United States: National States' Rights Party
Yugoslavia: Yugoslav National Movement^[42]

Notes

[1]
Principlists are not an official political party, but together with Reformists, they form the two main political camps in Iran.

References

[1]
"The Nazi Party". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 19 February 2026. The National Socialist German Workers' Party—also known as the Nazi Party—was the far-right racist and antisemitic political party led by Adolf Hitler.
[2]
Shulamit Volkov (September 5, 2023). Interpreting Antisemitism: Studies and Essays on the German Case. De Gruyter. p. 63. Pulzer, on the other hand, likewise dedicating his major effort to the study of the Antisemitic political parties, concluded by limiting their overall historical significance. Accordingly, Antisemitism remained a constant in Germany even if the decline of the parliamentary Antisemitic political parties in Imperial Germany appeared to be a closed issue.
[3]
Moshe Y. Herczl (July 1993). Christianity and the Holocaust of Hungarian Jewry. NYU Press. p. 8. The party's success can be ascribed to a considerable extent to the excitement that permeated Hungary in the wake of the blood libel of Tisza Eszlar (discussed below), and to the priesthood, which supported the party's election campaign. The Antisemitic party was active outside Parliament, too, with considerable success.
[4]
Jean Ancel (2007). The Economic Destruction of Romanian Jewry. International Institute for Holocaust Research, Yad Vashem. p. 30. The public saw it as a right-wing but not necessarily an antisemitic party (unlike the Iron Guard or National Christian Party). Within the context of the nationalist wing, its stand on the Jewish question seemed to be minimalistic [...]
[5]
Meyer Weinberg (November 12, 1986). Because They Were Jews: A History of Antisemitism. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 134. [...] and anewly organized antisemitic political party won seventeen seats in Parliament. During the next decade, the Catholic People's party became the principal defender of antisemitism. [...]
[6]
David G. Goodman; Masanori Miyazawa (1995). Jews in the Japanese Mind: The History and Uses of a Cultural Stereotype. Free Press. p. 255. [...] This new, economically driven xenophobia achieved an important symbolic victory in July 1992, when the first antisemitic political party in Japanese history appeared on the ballot for the Upper House Diet election. The Global Restoration Party (Chikyū ishin tō) fielded can a Shiōden Nobutaka had run on an antisemitic platform in the 1942 Diet election and had polled more votes nationwide than any other candidate, but there had been no political parties in this fascist election, all existing parties having been folded into the Taisei yokusankai (Imperial Rule Assistance Association). [...]
[7]
Hermann Greive: Geschichte des modernen Antisemitismus in Deutschland. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1983, S. 70.
[8]
Hannah Arendt: The Origins of Totalitarianism, ISBN 3-492-21032-5, p. 105.
[9]
Matthias Küntzel (2014). Germany and Iran: From the Aryan Axis to the Nuclear Threshold. Telos Press Publishing.
[10]
Litvak, Meir (2006). "The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Holocaust: Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism". Journal of Israeli History. 25 (1). doi:10.1080/13531040500502874.
[11]
Christian W. Spang; Rolf-Harald Wippich, eds. (April 18, 2006). Japanese-German Relations, 1895-1945: War, Diplomacy and Public Opinion. Taylor & Francis. p. 186.
[12]
「参議院比例代表選出議員選挙」（地球維新党部分）平成4年7月26日執行。
["Election of proportional representation of the House of Councillors" (Part of the Global Restoration Party) was implemented on July 26, 1992.]
[13]
Beck, Atara (2022-07-12). "Japanese politician who railed against 'Jewish capital' wins parliamentary seat | World Israel News". WIN. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
[14]
"結党5年の参政党とは　秘密裏に社会動かす「影の政府」、代表が主張". 朝日新聞 (in Japanese). 16 July 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026. 「あの勢力」とは「ユダヤ系の国際金融資本を中心とする複数の組織の総称」と説明。「欧米社会を実質的に支配して、数百年前から日本を標的にしている」と主張した。
[15]
Qossay Hamed (2023). Hamas in Power: The Question of Transformation. IGI Global. p. 161.
[16]
HAMAS. "Hamas 2017 Document of General Principles & Policies" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists.
[17]
Seurat, Leila (2019). The Foreign Policy of Hamas. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 9781838607449.
[18]
Amira, Hass (3 May 2017). "Why Hamas' New Charter Is Aimed at Palestinians, Not Israelis". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
[19]
Timea Spitka (2023). National and International Civilian Protection Strategies in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Springer International Publishing. pp. 88–89.
[20]
"Khaled Meshaal: Struggle is against Israel, not Jews". Al-Jazeera. 6 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
[21]
Bruce Hoffman (10 October 2023). "Understanding Hamas's Genocidal Ideology". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
[22]
Weitz, Eric D. (2007). Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 95–96.
[23]
Evans, Richard J. (2004). The Coming of the Third Reich. Penguin Books. p. 95. ISBN 978-0143034698.
[24]
Robert Michael (March 31, 2008). A History of Catholic Antisemitism: The Dark Side of the Church. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 139. Action Française's hatred of Jews and Jewishness inspired Vichy's antisemitic legislation and linked the movement to the otherwise despised Germans.
[25]
Carvajal, Doreen (December 14, 2004). "French Court Orders a Ban on Hezbollah-Run TV Channel". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
[26]
Kuzio, Taras (2021). "Disinformation Soviet Origins of Contemporary Russian Ukrainophobia". In Bertelsen, Olga (ed.). Russian Active Measures. ibidem-Verlag. p. 160. ISBN 9783838215297. Rodina (Motherland) party that espoused national Bolshevism (a curious blend of Russian nationalism and Soviet communism), Stalinism, anti-Semitism (anti-Zionism), and even racism
[27]
Billig, Michael (1978). Fascists: A Social Psychological View of the National Front. London: Academic Press. ISBN 978-0150040040.
[28]
"Persecution Defines Life for Yemen's Remaining Jews". The New York Times. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
[29]
"Yemeni embassy in DC condemns 'anti-American', 'anti-Semitic' Houthi ceremony". english.alarabiya.net. 7 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
[30]
Payne, Stanley G. (1995), A History of Fascism, 1914–1945, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, p. 58
[31]
Pauley, Bruce F. (1992), From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 156–158
[32]
Wouters, Nico (2018). "Belgium". In Stahel, David (ed.). Joining Hitler's Crusade: European Nations and the Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941. Cambridge University Press. pp. 260–287. ISBN 9781316510346.
[33]
Goldstein, Ivo; Goldstein, Slavko (2016). The Holocaust in Croatia. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 93. ISBN 9780822944515.
[34]
Kalman, Samuel (2013). French Colonial Fascism: The Extreme Right in Algeria 1919-1939. Palgrave Macmillan.
[35]
de Poncins, Leon (2015). The Secret Powers Behind Revolution: Freemasonry and Judaism. E World Inc. ISBN 978-1617590443.
[36]
Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran Between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. pp. 257–258. ISBN 0-691-10134-5.
[37]
L' antisemitismo nella Repubblica Sociale Italiana. Repertorio delle fonti conservate all'Archivio centrale dello Stato, Libreria Universitaria
[38]
La Repubblica sociale italiana e la persecuzione degli ebrei
[39]
Crampton, R.J. (1994). Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. London & New York: Routledge. p. 165.
[40]
Figes, Orlando (2014). A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891–1924. London: The Bodley Head. p. 196. ISBN 9781847922915.
[41]
Rodríguez Jiménez, 2000, pp. 95-102.
[42]
Vucinich, Wayne S. (1969). "Interwar Yugoslavia". In Vucinich, Wayne S. (ed.). Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 24.