“The French cannot fight antisemitism while sending their citizens this blood libel.”
On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Paris, Deputy Minister Michael Oren accused France on Sunday of spreading an antisemitic “blood libel” against Israel and the IDF.
Oren expressed outrage that France was the only Western European country that voted for a Kuwaiti United Nations resolution that condemned the use of “excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate force” by the IDF against the Gazans and made no mention of Hamas.
“The resolution is nothing less than a blood libel,” Oren told The Jerusalem Post. “The French cannot fight antisemitism while sending their citizens this blood libel. If you’re a French antisemite, you draw encouragement from this vote. The point must be made that they need to send the right message when they are in the struggle against antisemitism. We have to be clear and proactive in calling out this kind of hatred.”
Oren warned that had the resolution passed, it could have been used to prosecute IDF soldiers in the International Criminal Court. He said it would have given a huge boost to Hamas and discouraged Israel from retaliating to rocket fire in the future.
“The protests were designed to get that resolution,” Oren said. “The protests are the new rockets and are more effective. The goal is the same – delegitimizing Israel. Hamas knows rockets can’t destroy Israel, but resolutions can delegitimize Israel. Resolutions like that not only encourage terror, they encourage Hamas to continue sending kids to the fence to get killed.”
Oren praised the US for proposing a counter-resolution condemning Hamas violence, which Oren said was the first UN resolution defending Israel in many years.
“Thank God for [US ambassador to the UN] Nikki Haley, and thank God for the US,” he said.
When Oren wrote on Twitter that France should be ashamed of its vote for the Kuwaiti resolution, French Ambassador to Israel Helen Le Gal responded forcefully.
“Shame on you M. Oren for insulting France on the eve of the visit of your prime minister to Paris,” Le Gal tweeted. “You didn’t read the resolution. It was not perfect but condemned all the violence against Israel. France is adamantly supporting Israel’s security.”
Netanyahu will be meeting in France with President Emmanuel Macron and attending a celebration for Israel’s 70th birthday.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post