The Austrian Freedom Party’s leader gave a speech backing Israel’s right-wing agenda that was welcomed by members of the Israeli government. Austria’s established Jewish community vehemently rejects the party.

Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Jerusalem aims for “a substantive, open and candid dialogue” to establish ties with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, which was founded by former Nazis and has increasingly adopted a staunchly pro-Israel line in recent years.

Gideon Sa’ar was responding to a speech by Herbert Kickl, the party’s leader, at a conference in Strasbourg earlier in the day that was organized by the party and addressed by fellow Likud minister Miri Regev.

Israel formally boycotts the party over its Nazi past and history of antisemitic leaders, though ties have gradually warmed in recent years. Austria’s established Jewish community, however, vehemently rejects the party.

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Last year, when Kickl received the mandate to form a coalition in an ultimately failed attempt, Oskar Deutsch, president of Vienna’s Jewish community, said, “Perhaps we should start packing our bags.”

While not labeling the party itself a “Nazi party,” Deutsch said, “there are many Nazi sympathizers among the party’s leadership and officials.” After the collapse of coalition talks between the Freedom Party and Austria’s center-right, he called the development “a great relief.”

Earlier this year, Harald Vilimsky, the FPÖ’s leader in the European Parliament, who organized the event in Strasbourg, was hosted at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem. Deutsch told Haaretz at the time that the meeting was “extremely troubling.”