The Paris police chief refused to ban a demonstration organized by the “Israel is Forever” association, after requests for cancellation from left-wing parties who denounce the presence of members of the Israeli extreme right.
The association’s gala “Israel is Forever” will be held on Wednesday November 13, the day before the tense match between France and Israel at the Stade de France, announced Laurent Nuñez this Sunday on BFMTV. “I will not ban this demonstration […] I have no reason to do it”maintained the Paris police prefect, adding that “this gala brings together barely a few hundred people and is held every year”.
The holding of this demonstration was strongly criticized by unions and French left-wing parties, such as La France insoumise. Mainly due to the invitation of the far-right Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who had “made extremely shocking remarks, condemned by France”recalled Laurent Nuñez. This politician will ultimately not be present in the procession.
A secure procession
The context around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Europe was also one of the reasons given by the left to demand the cancellation of the event. This gathering will take place 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 avoid such incidents during sporting events. .
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Laurent Nuñez justified his choice to maintain the event by declaring that this gala is “organized by an association. Michel Barnier recalled in the Assembly hemicycle that the French government has nothing to do with it”. The Paris police chief ensured that this demonstration “does not cause a disturbance to public order”by confining the mobilization to one place, without moving through the streets of Paris, for example.
Seized by the Coordination of Appeals for a Just Peace in the Middle East EuroPalestine to obtain an annulment of the decision of the police prefect, the administrative court ruled on Saturday that there was no reason to prohibit it.
Radical members
It was the international right-wing Jewish movement which announced on Sunday that it was planning this gathering in Paris to fight against anti-Semitism, in the presence of a far-right Israeli minister, on the eve of a tense match between France and Israel. “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.
The latter, which has numerous branches around the world and which counts radical members in its ranks, plans to come together alongside the Movement of French Jewish Students (MEJF). 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.
Security system around the stadium
“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”continued Yigal Brand. For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu again denounced the attack on Sunday “anti-Semitic” 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.”declared Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a press release from his office. As a reminder, a total of 4,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized on Thursday for the match at “high risk” France-Israel at the Stade de France in the League of Nations, also announced Laurent Nuñez on BFMTV.
