CHIRAC'S ATTEMPT TO DELEGITIMIZE ISRAEL Arie Stav When power changed hands in Israel, and after the French press of all political hues had painted the Netanyahu government as a "gang of warmongers" and the prime minister himself as "a fool and provocateur," the Elysee Palace got into a good mood. French megalomania, frustrated since Bonaparte, was enjoying a favorable moment. So Jacques Chirac girded his loins and set off for the Proche Orient. The declared purpose of the trip: increasing French involvement (that is, European involvement) in this focus of conflict. In plain English, the purpose was to humiliate Israel as an exercise in public relations with the end in mind of promoting sales of French weapons to the Arab world. This was in view of the difficult situation of the French armaments industry.* The president's first stop was Damascus. Chirac listened tensely for 14 hours to every word out of Hafez Assad's mouth. He thanked the Syrian president for his efforts for regional peace, proclaimed his sweeping support for his "great friend's" demand that Israel be removed from the Golan Heights, and announced on this occasion the importance of establishing a Palestinian state. The two warmly embraced, Chirac once again crowned Syria with the title of "great friend," and went off to Israel. Not one word about Lebanon and the great massacre tht the "great friend" had perpetrated against the Christians, the proteges of France. Syria, starring at the head of the list of terrorist states, and Assad, Saddam Hussein's competitor for the title of greatest mass murderer in the Middle East, are great friends of the president of France. Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are. What was called "the President of France's visit to Israel" was not a visit. It was only a way station on his way to another "great friend," "President" Arafat. Therefore, Chirac was careful not to make this a "state visit" in any way, so as not to create the impression that he was granting legitimacy to the Zionist entity. He was to make a quick tour in east Jerusalem, because "France and the European Community have never recognized Israel's occupation of the city." Hence, it is "an extraterritorial zone" (except for the churches which are "French territory"). For that reason, it was not legal for Israel to provide him with bodyguards, and he threatened the guards watching over him: "If you don't go away, I will get on a plane and go back to France." He demonstrated his * France is the main supplier of weapons of mass destruction (along with Germany) to Iran and the Arab states. The nuclear reactors in Baghdad were made in France, and a large part of Iran's nuclear armaments originated with French companies, semi-officially encouraged by the government. See the editorial, "ABC Weapons in the Middle East--on the Verge of Critical Mass," Nativ, May 1992.

contempt for the Israeli government which was responsible for his safety by unexpectedly changing the route of his tour. When the chief guard mentioned the danger involved in a change, he called Israel's security arrangements "a deliberate provocation which explains a great many things to me..." The visit to the Knesset was forced on him and he visited like someone who did not want to be there. It is superfluous to point out that he would not speak to the house. After all, Paris does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. When Chirac's forefathers lived in caves and spoke in sign language, the prophets of Israel wrote the greatest thought in the history of mankind--in Jerusalem. But who were and what were the prophets of Israel compared with the President of France who hurries from one Arab mass murderer to another in search of markets for weapons of destruction? He showed his contempt for his hosts, including the President of Israel, by deliberately arriving late by one half hour. He crammed a session with Members of the Knesset into his crowded schedule as if it were an unnecessary nuisance. While there, he listened with an ironical expression as MK Michael Eitan explained the origin of the name Jacques from Ya'akov, that is Jacob, one of the forefathers of the Jewish people. We may easily guess that the anti-Semite slumbering within him despised (this time rightly so) the pathetic expression of Jewish flattery. Afterwards, he got away with a sigh of relief and flew to Ramallah in a helicopter of the French (!) army. He was received there in a ceremony of state-like character in all respects. This was meant to proclaim who were the real owners--in his view--of "Palestine." And he delivered an address before the legislative council of the PLO, which he called "a model of democracy." This was while he took care to call Arafat "Monsieur le President." in a long and detailed address, he did not dispose of any issue without first insulting Israel and blaming it for everything, just as his hosts had expected. He started with the settlements which were said to be an obstacle to peace, went on to the closure of the Judea, Samaria, and Gaza territories, and ended with the demolition of Arab houses in Jerusalem. The high point of his remarks was his resolute demand to recognize the right of return of 1948 Arab refugees, and his call to Arafat to immediately establish a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. If the reader feels that I have been harsh on the President of France, then he is mistaken. The fault for the disgrace--a first step in delegitimizing the Jewish State by a major European power--belongs to the Israeli government. The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not bother to lodge a protest through accepted diplomatic channels. No statement on the matter came out of the Prime Minister's office. On the contrary, satisfaction was expressed there over the meeting between the Prime Minister and the President. Arie Stav is editor of the Israelil journal Nativ.

Outpost               - 8 -               December 1996