Rafi Eitan, a former Israeli minister and the legendary spy who captured Adolf Eichmann, caused surprise and shock in Israel when he publicly endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In a video message posted Friday on the party’s Facebook page, Eitan praised the faction, saying: “Please understand that all of us in Israel appreciate your attitude toward Judaism.”
“In any case, I’m sure that if you work wisely strongly and most important realistically… I’m sure that instead of ‘Alternative for Germany,’ you might become an alternative for all of Europe,” he said.
He also urged AfD members to close their borders “as soon as possible to prevent Muslim immigration,” in a letter that accompanied the video.
Eitan, who commanded the 1960 intelligence operation that captured Nazi war criminal, Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann in Argentina, was also the chairman of the now defunct Gil Pensioners party and pensioner affairs minister from 2006 to 2009.
