On arrival, Benjamin Netanyahu was welcomed by a standing ovation. In his welcome speech, Richard Prasquier spoke of his father’s admiration for Vladimir Jabotinsky. “Your position is exceptionally difficult,” he said to Benjamin Netanyahu, “because it involves the very existence of Israel.” Yet, “as heavy as your responsibilities may be, you are not crushed by them.” (see below for major excerpts from Richard Prasquier’s speech).
When Benjamin Netanyahu took the floor to respond, he was treated to a further standing ovation. He structured his speech around the traditional precepts of Hillel the Elder: If I am not for myself, who will be? If it is not now, when then will it be?
“No one will defend the Jews if the Jews don’t defend themselves alone.” “Israel is the Nation State of the Jewish people in the land of Israel.” This is what he repeated to President Nicolas Sarkozy when they met, and this is what is missing to successfully bring about peace; this is the minimum, the very first thing that Israel’s Palestinian neighbours must recognise. “And if I am alone, who am I?” added the Israeli Prime Minister, explaining that we need to care for the others who live in the region and particularly the Palestinians. An economic development process must be put in place in conjunction with the peace negotiations. This could be done in coordination with France, the European Union and the United States. In conclusion, Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Paris is the capital of France. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and it has been our capital for 3000 years. It will remain united, under Israeli control and will guarantee freedom of worship for all religions.”
All the leaders of France’s Jewish community were present. In addition to CRIF’s General Director, Haim Musicant, accompanied by his very active staff, the institution was represented by several members of the Executive Board as well as many members of the Steering Committee.
Excerpts from the speech by the President of CRIF, Richard Prasquier.
(…)
There are many countries where the person in your position can limit his or her action to economic and social choices and while these are obviously important, they do not endanger the future of the population, at least not in the short term. But there is no other democracy where a Prime Minister’s decisions can have such a major and rapid influence on the fate of his or her people. Your position is exceptionally difficult, one of the most difficult anywhere on this planet, because it truly involves the very existence of Israel. From your training, your experience, your reading and your own thinking, from the professionalism of your staff, we know that as heavy as your responsibilities may be, you aren’t crushed by them. May clear-headedness, the clear-headedness which has for so long meant the difference between the path of life and the path of death for the Jewish people, continue to inspire you for the rest of your mandate!
You wanted to meet with France’s Jewish community. Though your stay is exceedingly brief, you are giving us a generous measure of your time. On behalf of all who have come and the many who would have liked to come but were unable to find a place, I say thank you.
(…)
CRIF was born in the dark years of the War and the hunt for Jews. It represents the community politically and it accepts the diversity of opinions of its member institutions and of the people who represent them. Some are orthodox and some anti-religious, some are former deportees and others are students, some are grass roots militants and others organised professionals, some approve of Likoud’s positions, while others – why try to hide it – have quite opposite political preferences. The community is very diverse, and CRIF reflects that diversity. Listening to France’s Chief Rabbi, I learned that people’s duty in society is not to absorb the differences into sterile homogeneousness, but to give life to their meeting as they rub against each other.
Consequently, at CRIF we try to respect this injunction of Jewish tradition and to allow such differences to express themselves. For sure, it isn’t always easy, but it is necessary if we want to play a useful role, not only for the Jewish community but beyond it to effectively defend Israel’s image in French society.
Prime Minister, to be a French Jew is to belong to a country where the authorities are resolutely fighting the anti-Semitism that is once again rearing its head, even though it is not always recognised when it hides under new disguises. It is to belong to a country that had been extremely close to Israel, then pulled away, and then more recently has returned to an attitude of active empathy, which does not exclude differences of opinion. We know the strong ties you have with President Nicolas Sarkozy, who for a long time now has shown an unfailing commitment to our community, and you have just come from an important meeting with him. We hope that it will further strengthen the dynamic of peace and friendship between France and Israel.
To be a French Jew is to live in a country where to qualify some of its citizens as belonging to a particular people is not an obvious notion. “Everything for the Jews as individuals, nothing as a nation,” was the slogan in 1791 when, for the first time in the modern era, Jews were emancipated. But the 20th century has confirmed, and sometimes through horror, that there is a Jewish people, something that the forerunners of Zionism had already pointed out. (…) French Jews, at least those who feel they are represented by CRIF, see themselves as part of the Jewish people, but this does not prevent them from feeling fully fledged French citizens.
(…) Israel is the State of the Jewish people: there are few human groups who can claim such a longstanding bond with a territory. This is something you have insisted on, Prime Minister, and I thank you for it. (…) No religious tradition has established such a strong and lasting attachment to a given place. This attachment is incomparable, as you know well, and today it continues to unite the Jewish people wherever they are found in the world. In your role, you are a guarantor of this reality.
We are Jewish, French and Zionist. In the fight over words, which like the fight over images, tends to distort the reality of the conflict, there are some who are trying to make “Zionism” a dirty word and anti-Zionism a trendy attitude, a process for explaining the world’s troubles that picks up on all the old clichés of anti-Semitism. Let me repeat, we are proud to be Zionists, which means that we consider that Israel must live as the State of the Jewish people, and we know that for this to be so in the long haul, security considerations are essential, because trust is simply not there.
(…) For there to be peace in people’s hearts, we need to unite the moderates, to give them the will to hope, to accept dialogue, to fight resentment, scorn and hatred wherever they may arise. We should not forget that it was Menachem Begin who was able to make peace with Egypt and we hope that you will find partners in dialogue on a par with Anwar Sadat. (…) Prime Minister, the challenges you face are extremely serious. We feel them, we experience them with you. Good luck, to you, to Israel, to the Jewish people and to the cause of peace, freedom and democracy.
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