This event organized by the association of the same name promises a “mobilization of French-speaking Zionist forces in the service of the power and history of Israel.” Political leaders have called for its cancellation. A pro-Palestine march is planned for the same day in Paris.
The event takes place in a very tense context. On the eve of the match which will pit France against Israel in Saint-Denis this Thursday and a few days after the violent clashes between supporters in the streets of Amsterdam, the “Israel is forever” gala is being held this Wednesday, November 13, an event of far right organized by the association of the same name.
Zionism and the far right
For the sum of 260 euros, hundreds of guests will be able to attend this event, the location of which is still kept secret, defined by the organizers as a “mobilization of French-speaking Zionist forces in the service of the power and history of Israel .”
The objective of this type of meeting is to bring together people who participate in the same political line, who have the same convictions, here a claimed line of extreme right-wing Zionism. Several organizations, including Crif, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, have chosen not to participate in this evening.
On the sidelines of this gala, Betar, a radical right-wing Jewish movement which has numerous branches around the world and which counts radical members in its ranks, also plans to gather alongside the French Jewish Student Movement (MEJF).
“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 the jihadists,” said the president of the umbrella organization of the World Betar, Yigal Brand, quoted in the press release announcing the gala.
Controversial figures
Among the participants in the gala, the president of the association, Nili Kupfer-Naouri, a Franco-Israeli lawyer at the center of all criticism. The daughter of radical Zionist activist Jacques Kupfer is already the target of a complaint from the Human Rights League for advocating crimes against humanity and genocide.
“Go see the Hamas demonstrations, there are one-year-old children dressed in Hamas colors. There is no innocent civilian population in Gaza,” she said on the CNews set.
She also went to the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to block the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.
“We are in the presence of the Israeli extreme right. These crimes are quite simply pushing for the abominable acts that we see today in Gaza and the West Bank,” Patrick Baudouin, president of the League for Human Rights (LDH).
Another angry subject: the announced participation of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a supremacist who supports the annexation of the Palestinian territories. His spokesperson indicated on Tuesday that the minister would ultimately not be present, at least in person, at the gala.
No ban
French associations, unions and left-wing parties denounced the organization of this gala, particularly criticizing the announced presence of Bezalel Smotrich.
Police chief Laurent Nuñez agreed to this gala being held. 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.
Laurent Nuñez clarified on BFMTV this Sunday, November 10 that this gala should bring together “barely a few hundred people” and “is held every year”, adding that he would ensure that the gathering “is held in a place that does not poses no problem in terms of disturbances to public order.”
“I have no reason to do it,” he added, when asked about a possible ban on the event.
Guest on TF1 on Tuesday November 12, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed that the gala would take place. “The question arose about the ban but the courts ruled and ruled in favor of our police prefect who did not ban this demonstration any more than we are going to ban other demonstrations which are opposed,” he justified.
A pro-Palestine march
In parallel with this meeting, a pro-Palestinian march, the holding of which was also authorized by the courts, will be held in Paris. She must leave at 6 p.m. from Saint-Lazare station to reach Place de la République.
It is organized jointly by several political parties and associations, including La France insoumise, Europe Écologie – Les Verts as well as Urgence Palestine and the CGT. “It’s a significant security challenge when you find yourself in the middle of two very violently opposed groups who could clash,” underlines BFMTV’s police-justice consultant, Guillaume Farde.
While several rebellious deputies requested the cancellation of the match between France and Israel which will be held Thursday evening at the Stade de France, Mathilde Panot, head of the LFI group in the National Assembly, also requested the cancellation of the gala.
“We have been asking for several weeks that (this) gala be banned and that Bezalel Smotrich is not welcome in France”, in order to “not send a signal of total impunity on French territory”, she said during of a press conference.
