Lobby Watch 17 February 2012
Sarkozy marvels at the “miracle” of Israeli “democracy”.
Council of the European UnionA Paris university has withdrawn permission for a Palestine solidarity conference at the behest of the Zionist lobby.
In a statement issued today, the authorities at the University of Paris 8 said that the title of the conference – “Israel: an apartheid state?” – was “of a strongly polemical character.” Because there had been strong reactions to its theme, the university predicted there could be a “serious risk posed to public order” if the event scheduled for 27 and 28 February went ahead.
The complaint against the conference was made by the representative council for Jewish organizations in France, or CRIF as it’s better known. It had objected to the participation of Omar Barghouti, coordinator of the Palestinian campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Boycott Israel “shock”
Barghouti’s presence in Paris would be “shocking”, according to CRIF, because the ideas that he espouses have “been found on several occasions to constitute an offence of incitement to discrimination.”
CRIF’s claim is misleading. While a number of BDS activists have been accused (ridiculously) of flouting French laws on racism, there have also been important rulings that uphold the right to urge a boycott of Israel. In December last, a court in the eastern city of Mulhouse acquitted 12 campaigners who had urged customers of the supermarket Carrefour not to buy Israeli goods.
I was also one of the invited speakers for the conference, which was part of , a series of debates and actions on university campuses throughout the world. The group behind the event, Collectif Palestine Paris 8, wasn’t consulted ahead of the university’s decision to ban it.
This isn’t the first time that CRIF has attempted to muzzle criticism of Israel on French campuses. Last year it strong-armed the authorities at the École normale supérieure (ENS), another Paris college, into forbidding a Palestine solidarity discussion. The big cheese at the ENS succumbed to the pressure.
The “miracle” of Israel
Earlier this month, CRIF underscored its political clout, when Nicolas Sarkozy addressed its annual dinner. The president used the platform to call Israel a “miracle,” marvelling at how “from the debris [of the Holocaust], a democracy has been born.”
On his best behavior now that he is seeking re-election, Sarkozy saluted the “courage” of Benjamin Netanyahu, a man who he has called a “liar” in private conversations with Barack Obama (that were overhead by journalists).
Anyone who has been following events in that “miracle” called Israel will know that Netanyahu and his foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman are waging a war of attrition against civil liberties. Aspects of that war have been exported to France, where calling out Israel as an apartheid state is considered a threat to public order or, worse, a crime.
Comments
Also, CRIF would like to know
Permalink eGuard replied on
Also, CRIF would like to know which student reads Voltaire.
Paris 8 is considered the
Permalink Deïr Yassin replied on
Paris 8 is considered the most left-wing university in France, it grew out of the '68-revolts and has hosted many revolutionnary intellectuals, such as Tony Negri and Paolo Persichetti, both Italian political refugies and later extradited to Italy.
Daniel Bensaïd, Alain Badiou, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan all taught there, so did Chomsky and Marcuse :-).
L'Ecole Normale Sup cancelled another BDS-conference last year after pressure from CRIF - the local AIPAC - though they stated it wasn't the reason.
CRIF just had their annual dinner-party last week, Sarko and Hollande were both there, so I guess a word was passed on the BDS-conference at Paris 8.
The right to free speech
Permalink LM replied on
It seems that the European nations are less democratic than the US. Here in the US one can still expose his own opinions based on free speech, let it be even the boycotting of Israeli goods.
People are smart enough in order to decide if the statements made by the demonstrators make sense or not. Stopping any kind of demonstration or activity against Israel will create anti-semitism. If this is the goal, then please move forward with this tactic Mr. Sarkozy.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!
Permalink Bisan replied on
It is not shocking that France cancels and bans activities related to the week of Israeli Apartheid, since it, much like all the other European states are always too late in acknowledging oppression and fighting against it. As the case of South Africa showed us, the Europeans will come one day to their "senses" and realize the reality of apartheid, albeit when it is too late and on the expense of the oppressed. So, the question to be asked is not "why France banned the conference" rather "what would France do when it is no longer possible to ignore the factual and systematic apartheid system Israel is practicing against the Palestinians". So much for the "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" -rhetoric France's been digging in our collective consciousness since "its" revolution!!