An international right-wing Jewish movement announced on Sunday that it was planning a rally in Paris to fight anti-Semitism, in the presence of a far-right Israeli minister, on the eve of a tense match between France and Israel.
The rally will come six days after violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam which led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the Mossad to prepare an action plan to prevent such incidents at sporting events.
“On November 13 in Paris, Betar and MEJF Paris will welcome the Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich” in Paris, Betar declared in a press release.
Betar, which has numerous branches around the world and counts radical members in its ranks, plans to gather alongside the French Jewish Student Movement (MEJF) on the sidelines of the “Israel is Forever” gala, a support event in Israel organized by several far-right figures.
Associations, unions and French left-wing parties denounced the organization of this gala, particularly criticizing the announced presence of Bezalel Smotrich. The gala is presented by its organizers as “the mobilization of French-speaking Zionist forces in the service of the power and history of Israel”.
“We are scandalized by what happened in Amsterdam and by the reaction of governments,” said the president of the umbrella organization of World Betar, Yigal Brand, quoted in the press release. “We are proud Zionists and have no reason to apologize (…) We will gather on Wednesday in Paris and Thursday at the football match which is also threatened by jihadists,” says Mr. Brand.
For his part, Mr. Netanyahu again denounced on Sunday the “anti-Semitic” attack in the streets of Amsterdam. This violence, which occurred after the match Thursday evening between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, led to five temporary hospitalizations and around sixty arrests, according to the Dutch police.
“We will do what is necessary to protect ourselves and our citizens. We will never allow the horrors of history to repeat themselves. We will never give in to anti-Semitism or terrorism,” Mr. Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.
A total of 4,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized on Thursday for the “high risk” France-Israel match at the Stade de France in the League of Nations, Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez announced on BFMTV on Sunday.
