Controversy erupts over lavish Paris gala for Israel's far right

FRANCE 24

12 November 2024 at 10:31 am·1-min read

A woman with an Israeli flag on her shoulders seen on the sidelines of a tribute to the victims on October 6, 2024, a year after the Hamas attacks.

Pro-Palestinian associations, unions and French leftist parties are campaigning against plans for a gala in Paris on Wednesday that will include attendees with openly anti-Arab views. The event, sponsored by the Israel is Forever association, will take place on the eve of a France-Israel football match that has raised fears of violence like that seen in Amsterdam last week, when five people were hospitalised after Israeli football fans were attacked by a mob.

Controversy has erupted in France over plans for a lavish VIP gala in Paris sponsored by Israel is Forever, an association of staunchly pro-Zionist groups.

At €260 a head, the evening celebrating “the power and history of Israel” – the location of which has not yet been disclosed – has already drawn vocal opposition from French human rights groups, unions and leftist politicians.

“Holding this gala in the French capital would constitute an insult to international law and contempt for the UN and for the orders issued by the highest international court,” seven civil rights group wrote in an open letter last week, referencing International Court of Justice rulings that included calling on Israel to prevent acts of “genocide” in Gaza.

The leader of Israel is Forever has made headlines for dismissing the human toll of the war in Gaza, saying that no one in Gaza was “innocent”.

“There is no innocent civilian population in Gaza," she proclaimed.

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