Who is Amichai Chikli? The right-wing Israeli minister who called for Syria's Al Shara to be 'eliminated'

Minister has stirred controversy for his views and comments

Amichai Chikli, Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs, has frequently attacked media outlets that he considers left-wing. Getty Images

Israel's Diaspora Affairs Minister has called for Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara to be "eliminated", after a ceasefire failed to put an end to three days of violence in southern Syria against the country's Druze minority.

Amichai Chikli has often stirred controversy, both outside and within Israel with his frequent attacks on media outlets he considers left-wing, anti-Palestinian comments, support for annexing the occupied West Bank and for his ties to European far-right politicians.

Mr Chikli, 43, has held the position since 2022 and before entering politics he was a combat officer in the Israeli army. The son of a conservative Rabbi, he has deep ties to the progressive Jewish movement – although he does not publicly affiliate himself to it.

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He rose to prominence in the Israeli political sphere by voting against his former party Yamina in the previous Knesset and then joining the Likud party – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing party. He was the first lawmaker to break away from former prime minister Naftali Bennett over his decision to enter an alliance with left-wing and Arab parties.

As the diaspora affairs minister, one of his main tasks is to cultivate Israel's ties with Jews around the world, but Mr Chikli has often come at odds with American Jews, one of the largest diasporas. He has spoken out against Reform Judaism, the largest denomination in the US.

He equates criticism of Israel and its actions against Palestinians or war in Gaza as anti-Semitism. Last month, he was part of a heated debate with British broadcaster Piers Morgan, calling him anti-Semitic for criticising Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip where it has been waging a devastating war for 21 months.

He has described pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses in the US as a “pandemic spreading on American campuses … not so different and not less dangerous than the fentanyl epidemic”.

Mr Chikli has frequently attacked media outlets that he considers left-wing. He has often accuses the Hebrew daily Haaretz of incitement and causing damage to the country, and has called for the government to close down the public broadcaster Kan.

He also stirred controversy in March when he opened the government's International Conference on Combating anti-Semitism with an apology to far-right European politicians for the controversy surrounding their participation in the event.

The anti-Semitism event, organised by Mr Chikli's ministry, was boycotted by leading Jewish and Zionist groups due to the attendance of far-right foreign politicians, some of whose parties have origins in the Nazi era.

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a non-profit group based in Brussels, said in January that its president, Dyab Abou Jahjah, had filed a criminal complaint against Mr Chikli. He claimed that HRF, which is pursuing legal action against Israeli soldiers, is linked to Hezbollah and Hamas.

He had been due to meet members of the Jewish community in Brussels that month, but pulled out due to security concerns, likely linked to the legal case initiated by the HRF. More than 40 relatives of families of Israeli hostages in Gaza and leaders and representatives of Jewish communities across Europe cosigned a letter asking them to cancel Mr Chikli's invitation.

The letter expressed concern over Mr Chikli's opposition to a hostage rescue agreement, his support for far-right European politicians and his apparent backing for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon.