“Israel is Forever”: on the eve of the France-Israel match, a controversial pro-Israeli gala organized in Paris

The location is kept secret but the “Israel is Forever” gala will be held this Wednesday, November 13, in the evening, in Paris. Many far-right Franco-Israeli personalities are expected to be present. Their goal: to support the Jewish state, while fighting still rages in the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

On the official poster, the gala is presented as “the mobilization of French-speaking Zionist forces in the service of the power and history of Israel”. Funds must be raised there, with the entry ticket costing 260 euros. On the eve of the France-Israel match and just one week after the violence in Amsterdam, the holding of this event created controversy.

‘No trip to Paris’ planned for controversial Israeli minister

The “Israel is Forever” association was founded by Jacques Kupfer, a radical Zionist activist. He notably chaired the Likud of France, the political party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (new window)and Betar, a Jewish youth movement. After his death in 2021, his daughter, lawyer Nili Kupfer-Naouri, took over as head of the association.

Left-wing associations and parties also protested against the possible arrival of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. In a joint press release released by the Human Rights League (new window)they consider it as “the figure of the most fanatical religious Zionism”also evoking “the racism and hatred that animate this character” : “Holding this gala in the French capital would constitute an insult to international law and a mark of contempt for the UN.”

France denounced in March 2023 the comments “irresponsible” by Bezalel Smotrich who then denied the existence of Palestinians as individuals and as a people, during an evening organized by the same association in Paris. He also advocates annexing all the territories occupied by Israel and giving residents resident status without the right to vote, under penalty of expulsion.

One of his spokespersons told AFP this Tuesday that the Israeli minister had not planned this week “no trip to Paris“However, it is not excluded that he will participate in the gala by videoconference.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations organized

If the idea of ​​banning the event emerged, it was quickly swept aside. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nuñez, argued that there was little risk of disturbances to public order. Seized by a pro-Palestinian coordination, “justice ruled in favor of our police chief who did not ban this demonstration, any more than we are going to ban other demonstrations which will be opposed”justified the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau this Tuesday evening on TF1.

On the sidelines of the gala, the right-wing Betar Jewish movement plans to gather alongside the French Jewish Student Movement. The location and time are also unknown at this stage.

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To protest the “Israel is Forever” gala, two demonstrations will be held at the same time in the capital. La France insoumise and the Ecologists are calling on their activists to march between the Saint-Lazare station and the Place de la République. Between 4,000 and 8,000 people are expected, according to a police source. For their part, associations, such as SOS Racisme, plan to gather in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.

The Nations League football match between France and Israel scheduled for Saint-Denis, north of Paris, is considered to be “high risk” by the French authorities, who are planning a system “extremely reinforced”, “very unusual” for a match of this type. 4,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized in the stadium but also on public transport to avoid the same episodes of violence as in Amsterdam, on the night of November 7 to 8 last year. Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were chased and beaten in the streets of the Dutch capital.