US jews oppose Macron as Israel prepares response to Paris Article by Times of Israel

An article published in the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel criticises France’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state. Caliber.Az reprints the material.

A coalition of leading US Jewish groups on Friday turned down an invitation to meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot following Paris’s announcement a day prior that it would recognize a Palestinian state in September.

In a joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, B’nai B’rith International, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, UJA-Federation of New York and World Jewish Congress said they were “deeply concerned that France’s approach undermines prospects for a mutually negotiated future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Barrot approached one of the groups, the Conference of Presidents, to meet in New York to discuss the recognition move. It declined.

A coalition of leading US Jewish groups on Friday turned down an invitation to meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot following Paris’s announcement a day prior that it would recognize a Palestinian state in September, while accusing Paris of “dishonoring the victims of October 7.”

In a joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, B’nai B’rith International, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, UJA-Federation of New York and World Jewish Congress said they were “deeply concerned that France’s approach undermines prospects for a mutually negotiated future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Barrot approached one of the groups, the Conference of Presidents, to meet in New York to discuss the recognition move. It declined.

The groups expressed disappointment that they “were invited to discuss a policy that appears to have already been finalized.”

They urged French President Emmanuel Macron to reconsider the decision and commended the White House “for its clear and forceful opposition to the French proposal.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday the US “strongly rejects” the plan. “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th,” he said.

US President Donald Trump said “what [Macron] says doesn’t matter.”

“He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight,” he told reporters at the White House.

The Jewish groups said that “By taking such a unilateral step, France not only emboldens extremists, but risks the security of the Jewish people around the globe, along with alienating moderate voices and undermining the credibility of French diplomacy in the region.”

They accused Macron of having backtracked on “specific conditions” for recognizing Palestinian statehood, which the groups said he outlined three months ago. These conditions included “the release of hostages still held in Gaza and Hamas’s surrender,” the groups said.

“None of these conditions have been met, contradicting the president’s prior commitments,” they added. “By abandoning these conditions, France rewards Hamas for its continued brutality and sends a dangerous message that legitimizes terrorism while dishonoring the victims of October 7, 2023.”

Barrot, who delivered a letter outlining Macron’s announcement to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday, has rebuffed such criticism.

“Hamas has always rejected the two-state solution,” he tweeted on Thursday. “By recognizing Palestine, France proves this terrorist movement wrong. It supports the side of peace against that of war.”

Israel is furious about France’s recognition. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tweeted on Friday that he had discussed the move with his Canadian counterpart and warned her that Israel is considering an unspecified response.

“Unilateral steps by France and other countries will only push Israel to take steps of its own,” he wrote. “The French initiative harms the chances of achieving a hostage deal and ceasefire. It won’t promote stability in the region.”

William Daroff, the Conference of Presidents’ CEO, said the decision to rebuff Barrot’s invitation did not represent a permanent policy.

“We routinely meet with foreign leaders, including when we disagree with their policies. However, in this case, the group of invited organizations unanimously agreed not to attend. Speaking with one voice underscores the seriousness of our objection,” he said in a statement. “Should we receive future invitations, we will evaluate them on a case-by-case basis.”

Macron’s move came amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with aid agencies warning of widespread hunger, and failed efforts to bring an end to the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack and to free the hostages still held by the terror group.

Netanyahu and much of the Israeli right have long opposed the creation of a Palestinian state, insisting it would be a security threat and a haven for terrorists.

Since the Hamas onslaught in 2023, Jerusalem has also said that recognizing a Palestinian state now would incentivize further violence, acting as a reward for the rampage, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, of whom 50 are still held, including at least 28 who are confirmed dead.

French-Israeli political analyst Myriam Shermer said that “French Jews and French Israelis feel abandoned by Macron.”

“They feel punished by Macron, who multiplies his criticisms of Israel, whereas France, in their view, should have stood by Israel in the fight against Islamist terrorism,” she said.

Israeli ministers railed against Macron, with several senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition calling for Jerusalem to annex the West Bank in retaliation.

Netanyahu in his own statement said Macron was recognizing a “state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7 massacre.”

“Such a move rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launchpad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it.”

“Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel,” the premier asserted.

With Israel likely to take punitive measures against France, as it has done to other countries that have recognized a Palestinian state, some ministers argued that the most fitting reaction would be to annex the territory on which Palestinians hope their future state will be located.

“I thank President Macron for providing yet another compelling reason to finally apply Israeli sovereignty over the historic regions of Judea and Samaria, and to definitively abandon the failed concept of establishing a Palestinian terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote in an English-language tweet.