A fleeting gala and two events held at a distance from each other: the fate of the Gaza Strip, relentlessly bombarded by the Israeli army since the massacre of October 7, 2023, was in the spotlight in Paris on Wednesday, November 13. The gala organized by the far-right pro-Israeli association Israel is Forever in support of the Israeli army, in which Bezalel Smotrich, the supremacist finance minister in the Netanyahu government, was originally scheduled to take part, fired up spirits on the eve of a France-Israel football match. The contest is scheduled to take place under very tight security at the Stade de France on Thursday evening.
Read more France hosts Israel in football match overshadowed by the political and security context
These events come less than a week after the clashes in Amsterdam, during which Israeli supporters and hooligans – as well as Jewish Dutch citizens – were severely beaten up in the streets of the Dutch capital after having engaged in provocations and violence of their own, in some cases.
The planned visit of Smotrich, who openly advocates ethnic cleansing and the annexation of the West Bank, was a catalyst to the pro-Palestinian movement in France, but also to the most liberal and peace-loving elements of the Jewish community. Despite the cancellation of the far-right Israeli minister’s visit, against whom several organizations and lawyers intended to file a complaint for complicity in torture or genocide, the two demonstrations against the gala organized by Israel is Forever were maintained.
The first protest, between Saint-Lazare and Place de la République, was organized by the Urgence Palestine group and brought together political parties, unions and associations that are traditional supporters of the Palestinian cause. A few thousand people took part, but the turnout was not massive.
The second, which did not receive authorization and was attended by only a hundred people, brought together associations of the Jewish left and those fighting anti-Semitism such as Golem, Peace Now, J-Call, the Action Network Against Anti-Semitism and All Racisms, the Union of Jews for Resistance and Mutual Aid, and the Peace Warriors, joined by SOS-Racisme. For some of these organizations, it was the first mobilization since October 7, 2023, who hadn’t dared demonstrate against the Israeli government.
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Signs for peace
As the Israel is Forever gala was initially scheduled to take place at the Salons Hoche, in Paris’s 8th arrondissement, it was a few steps away, at Place de l’Etoile, that the second rally formed early in the evening, at 6:30 pm. A few hundred people of all ages turned out, carrying placards for peace, against the annexation of the West Bank, or brandishing photos of Israeli hostages. Political figures from the left were present, including La France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) dissidents Raquel Garrido, MPs Clémentine Autain and Alexis Corbière, raincoats adorned with MPs’ sash in the colors of the French flag. Green MP Sandrine Rousseau and Socialist Jérôme Guedj also joined the procession.
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