Some of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's advisers and Israeli diplomats in Paris were at pains yesterday to try and temper Sharon's call on French Jews to come to Israel.
They explained that it was only part of Sharon's regular call to the Jews of the Diaspora to make aliya and emphasized that he had praised the French governments' efforts in battling anti-Semitism.
They should have saved their breath.
Sharon was unequivocal. After being asked a question about attacks on French Jews at a meeting with the leadership of the United Jewish Communities, the prime minister said, "If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I would tell them one thing: move to Israel, as early as possible." I
nstead of making excuses, they should be backing up the prime minister's words.
In a normal diplomatic situation between two countries, one prime minister's suggestion to 600,000 citizens of another country to emigrate would indeed be an offensive gesture, rightly seen as interference in another country's internal affairs.
But for the last four years, the situation between Israel and France has been everything but normal. And this is to say nothing about the French government's repeated efforts to intervene in Israeli politics.
In October 2000, President Jacques Chirac summoned an emergency summit in Paris with Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat in an effort to stem the outbreak of violence that started the current war.
Through American mediation, an agreement had been reached for an end to the fighting, but at the last moment Arafat refused to sign it. The French encouraged him to hold out for a better deal, including an international committee that would include France.
This exchange typifies the Franco-Israeli relationship. The Chirac government has assumed the role of the Palestinians' unwavering patron. Even recently, when longtime supporters like Terje Roed-Larsen have come to the conclusion that Arafat is no longer a viable partner for anything, France remains the only major country to continue honoring Arafat with high-level visits.
Three weeks ago, Foreign Minister Michel Barnier ended what had been a virtual diplomatic isolation by meeting with Arafat in Ramallah. He didn't miss the opportunity to urge Israel to stop building the security fence and allow Arafat to travel freely.
We understand that France does not see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an "internal" Israeli matter. But the defense of Israeli citizens from Palestinian terror is indeed our internal affair. If they wish to deliver pronouncements about it, fine, but what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
We also believe that the French government would do better to direct their efforts inwards. In 2002, Chirac insisted there was no anti-Semitism in France. Now he and his ministers are finally beginning to admit that they have a serious problem. Instead of preaching to Israel, the French should get down to dealing with their own homegrown intifada in which French Jews are the primary targets and French Muslims the primary aggressors.
Silence in the face of the mounting attack on Jewish communities around the world, most recently in Perth, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand, where a Jewish synagogue and cemetery, respectively, were desecrated last week, is not an option for an Israeli prime minister.
Israel's declaration of statehood ends with an appeal "to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream — the redemption of Israel." But from the state's first years, it was evident that Israel's relationship with the Diaspora is two-way and its main responsibility is to provide a safe haven for the Jews of the world. First for the survivors of the Holocaust, and over the years for the refugees from the Arab world, for Soviet Jewry and for the lost tribe in Ethiopia.
Sharon's words might be unacceptable in the world of polite diplomacy but he was only carrying out his most basic duty as the leader of the Jewish state. We only wish Chirac would carry out his own basic duties with as much forthrightness.
Some of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's advisers and Israeli diplomats in Paris were at pains yesterday to try and temper Sharon's call on French Jews to come to Israel.