“Israel is forever” gala held in Paris: who are the organizers ? Who is present ?

À On the eve of a high-tension match between France and Israel, the association “Israel is forever” is organizing a gala this Wednesday, November 13, to mobilize “of the French-speaking Zionist forces”.

A week after the violence in the city of Amsterdam, Israel is Forever President Nili Kupfer-Naouri is hosting a gala to mobilize “Francophone Zionist forces in the service of Israel's power and history.” The French-Israeli lawyer is the daughter of Jacques Kupfer, former president of Likud France and founder of the association of which she now holds the presidency.

At the beginning of the year, Nili Kupfer-Naouri made comments that led to the filing of a complaint for “apology” of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Human Rights League. Indeed, her statements during an interview with Studio Qualita (a media outlet for Jewish immigrants in Israel) had created controversy, since she justified the forceful colonization of Palestinian lands: “We no longer want barbarian neighbors, we understand that we must obtain our security and it is through the mass emigration of Arabs from Gaza and a Jewish settlement,” she had said.

The controversial arrival of Bezalel Smotrich

For the occasion, several far-right personalities were invited, including the Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich. The leader of Mafdal, a far-right Zionist movement, has made a number of intolerant remarks in recent years. This “proud homophobe”, as he describes himself, opposes marriage for all and calls LGBT+ people “abnormal”.

A staunch settler, he proposed in March a vast plan to seize 800 hectares of Palestinian land, the largest land grab in the occupied West Bank. All this despite a report from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that deplored “settler violence and settlement-related violations” at the risk of “eliminating” any possibility practice of establishing a viable Palestinian state.”

In August, Bezalel Smotrich described the blocking of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as “justified and moral until our hostages are returned to us.” These remarks, considered “odious” by the international community, earned him the “deep consternation” of France. During a previous private visit in March 2023, already organized by the collective “Israel is forever”, he added: “There are no Palestinians because there is no Palestinian people”.

The announcement of his visit caused such an uproar that his spokesperson, Ephraim David, finally affirmed that “no trip to Paris was planned”, although an appearance by videoconference could not be ruled out.

A justice system indifferent to the calls of the left

Despite Following requests from several associations, unions and left-wing political parties, the gala will indeed take place on the evening of Wednesday, November 13. Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police prefect, gave his approval, referring to a gala with a small committee, held in “a place that does not pose a problem in terms of public order disturbances”.

The Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, supported these remarks, invoking the decision of the interim relief judge of the Paris administrative court: “The question of the ban arose 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 that are opposed,” he declared. on TF1.

In response, several political parties and associations, including La France Insoumise, Europe & Ecology – The Greens, Urgence Palestine and the CGT, are organizing a pro-Palestinian march in Paris around 6 p.m. this Wednesday.