Anti-Semitic Argentine politician kicks off campaign, vows to expel Israel envoy
‘This is Argentina … this is not Israel’ ultra-nationalist Alejandro Biondini tells Jewish community; in the past he has praised Hitler, condemned ‘genocidal Zionism’
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An accused neo-Nazi running for president in Argentina has said he would expel the Israeli ambassador if elected.
Alejandro Biondini, a veteran far-right ultra-nationalist leader, is the presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front party. On Friday, Biondini launched his presidential campaign for the October 27 elections in front of the Italian civil organization, the Unione e Benevolenza, in the center of Buenos Aires.
“I define myself as a clear defender of the Palestinian State,” he tweeted in February. “I repudiate the colonialist genocidal Zionism. I reaffirm: when I am president I will expel the British and the Israeli ambassadors.”
Argentina fought Britain over the Falkland Islands in 1982.
Me defino como claro defensor del Estado Palestino y repudio al sionismo colonialista y genocida. Lo reafirmo: cuando sea Presidente expulsaré a embajadores británico e israelí. Sería bueno que cierto candidato presidencial, que se la da de "nacionalista", se defina al respecto. https://t.co/ZBuEw7UIaA
— Alejandro Biondini (@BiondiniAR) February 14, 2019
In launching his campaign, Biondini reiterated his promise and warned the country’s Jewish leadership.
“I said to the DAIA [Argentina’s Jewish political umbrella organization] that this is Argentina … this is not Israel,” to applause and shouts from the crowd. There was violence in the street before the event.
Biondini has openly espoused anti-Semitism and his admiration for Adolf Hitler.
“We vindicate Adolf Hitler,” he said in a TV interview in 1991. Three years earlier he had led chants of “Death to traitors, cowards and Jews” at a gathering of extreme-right demonstrators in Buenos Aires.
His previous party, New Triumph, was banned by Argentina’s electoral court in 2009. In November 2018, a federal judge in Buenos Aires granted approval to Biondini’s new party, Patriotic Front. DAIA condemned the judge’s decision and said in a statement that the party is a “neo-Nazi and ultra-nationalist movement, a danger to an egalitarian society.”
The October elections will choose the next president for a four-year term, as well as governors of the 24 provinces, mayors and local and federal legislators.
The Times of Israel Community.