Led by chairman Roger Cukierman, the CRIF leaders met with the highest personalities of the State (President Moshe Katsav; Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres; Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsipi Livni; Minister of Defence Amir Peretz; Minister for Commerce and Industry Eli Yichai) as well as leaders of the opposition (Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu; Israel Beteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman). The CRIF also went to Haifa in order to greet Mayor Yona Yahav, whose city had been hit by katyushas shells, and to present him with a symbolic cheque. The delegation is also to meet French Ambassador Gérard Araud and French Consul General Alain Rémy.
CRIF chairman, Roger Cukierman, explains the objective of this trip
“We wanted to express the solidarity of the CRIF executive committee in these exceptional circumstances. I would however remind you that this trip had been long planned, and that it is an annual occurrence. We also wanted not only to be informed of the present situation, but also to inform our Israeli contacts of all the actions we are undertaking with French leaders, and of all the high level contacts we have in France to present our point of view and to defend Israel.
The Israeli leaders told us it was wrong to think that this war had been lost by Israel, as Hezbollah had been removed from South Lebanon, had been significantly struck and had today been replaced by soldiers of the Lebanese army and of the various nationalities included in UNIFIL. They noted and added that Arab leaders have not shown much sympathy for Hezbollah and that this war should in the future and if need be make it possible to put right the wrongs that had occurred (during the Israeli offensive). Besides, the Israeli leaders highlighted the danger represented by Iran. Its regime is not only a threat to Israel, but also a serious threat to the rest of the free world. The Israeli leaders explained to us that it was necessary to be extremely firm towards this country. In terms of home policies, members of the Government say they are concerned about budgetary restrictions and remind us that the number of Israelis living under the poverty line is continuously increasing. Finally, we also felt that this Government could hold, despite the attacks and criticism directed towards it, because the differences in approach between politicians and political groups in Israel are such that it is difficult to conceive the formation of a national union Government as things stand.
The Israeli leaders are very sensitive to the many contacts we maintain with President Chirac, the French Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, in order to put forward our point of view and defend Israel. They also say that French Jews are a model for Jews throughout the world. They also expressed their strong appreciation for the fact that our brothers in the faith continue to go to Israel in spite of the war.
The French press correspondents in Israel have ensured us that their editorial offices insist on balanced information. Images received from Lebanon are more striking than those from Israel only because the physical destruction is widespread and we see victims, whereas Israelis, for ethical reasons, do not show their victims.
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