A heated battle unfolds across the globe as French President Emmanuel Macron attempts to orchestrate international recognition of a Palestinian state, while Israel mounts an intensive counter-campaign to block the French initiative.
President Macron, who faces constant criticism domestically, plummeted to 15% approval ratings in polls over the weekend. His third government is expected to fall within two years. The search for political survival has led him to target Jews, as the French have a rich history in this area.
However, this time the Jews are fighting back. Primarily, President Yitzhak Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar divide the work between them. A month ago, Herzog visited Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. His arrival there contributed to these countries rejecting Macron's request to join the unilateral recognition. On Thursday, Herzog met with the Pope, and this week he may travel to London for the same purpose.
Sa'ar visited Japan several months ago and spoke again with its foreign minister over the weekend. Tokyo is also sitting on the fence for now. Both the president and the foreign minister speak daily with leaders around the world. They explain what Israel is doing to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and clarify that French President Macron is only distancing any type of agreement.
In these conversations, it emerges that Israeli threats to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria in response are indeed deterring countries considering joining the French provocation. At least some of the countries' leaders have expressed concern that Israel's response would lead to undermine the Abraham Accords.
Israel is indeed seriously considering the historic step. The Yesha Council and right-wing ministers are applying heavy pressure on Netanyahu to take this move. It is very logical that the prime minister, who grew up in a revisionist home, would want to establish such a move in his legacy, especially since all the messages arriving from Washington do not rule out sovereignty.
A source who spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's staff heard two possibilities from them. One, a general American statement backing Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. The other, preliminary and detailed dialogue about the specific places where Israeli law would be applied.
What is certain is that Rubio, who will dedicate the "Pilgrims' Way" from the City of David to the Western Wall next week in a significant political and historical ceremony, is not saying "no" to Israeli sovereignty.
Now the ball is with Netanyahu. What will he do? First, damage control. That is, he will wait to see how many countries join the French move, and what exactly will be said at that UN conference that Macron deliberately scheduled for the Jewish New Year. If the language is extreme and the participants numerous, Israel will respond forcefully. If the conference is a flop, the Israeli response will be similar.
So far, Israel's blocking battle is achieving reasonable results. While there are important countries like Canada and Australia expected to join the French move, Germany, Italy and many others oppose it. However, they would be happy to hear better explanations of Israel's arguments.
From conversations with leaders of these countries, it clearly emerges that the absence of an Israeli advocacy system causes Israel very heavy political damage. In any case, not only sovereignty is being considered but additional response measures, such as closing the French consulate in Jerusalem and more.
The battle of minds will continue until the last moment. Every country that Macron tries to drag to his side, Israel will try to pull back toward itself. The French president's request to visit Israel before his conference was rejected. Now he is chasing after Jewish leadership, both in France and in the US.
Hopefully, CRIF, the AJC, AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents will respond negatively to his request. When a French president harms the Jewish state, when he desecrates the sanctity of the Jewish holiday and holds his conference specifically on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, and when antisemitism rages in his country not seen in France since the Holocaust, it is not appropriate for leaders in the Jewish people to give him legitimacy.
When in Nice, France's fourth-largest city, a Jewish child looks out the window at a group of hooligans blocking the entrance to his synagogue and tells his mother "they are crazy, I am afraid" (the video is on social media) – it appears that Macron has much more urgent real problems.
