On this day of the July 14th military parade and the day after the French Republic's belated tribute to Captain Alfred Dreyfus, I wish to salute all the the men of goodwill who fought relentlessly against injustice, against disinformation and intrigues and above all against hatred of the Jew, against the foul beast which today raises its head in various forms against the State of Israel.
The statue of Dreyfus is now on public display opposite the Court of Cassation. Louis Mittelberg, the renowned cartoonist Tim, conceived and created this historic work of art. Following General de Gaulle's infamous speech, Tim published an immortal caricature depicting a representative of the "domineering and self-assured people" behind the barbed wire of the death camps.
It was in Paris, during the ignoble trial against Dreyfus, that Theodore Herzl realized the urgency of the Zionist movement and published "The Jewish State".
The history of the Jews is part of the national history of France. No one, no political leader, no intellectual or historian, can contradict or deny this.
Jews inhabited France several centuries before the Franks and the Normans. Their first settlements date back to the Gallo-Roman period, as early as the 1st century. Since then, they have integrated and contributed in all areas to the building and development of the country, always faithful to republican laws, devoted to their homeland, and daring to stand up against the tyranny and anti-Semitic decrees of Vichy.
It should be noted that more than one and a half million Jews fought in the ranks of the Allies.
By definitively rehabilitating Brigadier General Alfred Dreyfus, restoring to him his dignity as a soldier and officer, the French Republic and army have finally regained their honor. They had lost it during the dark years of Petain, at the time of the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, when the Israelis faced death. France had adopted an incomprehensible and cowardly policy. Even today, with each event in our region, it loses its dignity, its honor, and its universal values. It refuses to stand with the free world, to recognize the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a terrorist organization, as Great Britain has recently done. In doing so, it fails to realize that it is indirectly supporting the Islamist camp, all those who advocate hatred of Jews, antisemitism, boycotts, and the destruction of the Jewish state.
Following the successive failures of French policy, following the disputes, crises and misunderstandings between our two countries, it is high time to re-examine our bilateral relations because they play a considerable role of influence on the Muslim community in France and allow politicians to manipulate and win over voters in each election campaign.
Of course, this is not about boycotting and cutting ties with the Arab world, but about fighting together against jihadist enemies and fanatics.
As a Francophile Israeli, I have had the privilege of being a close observer of Franco-Israeli relations for several decades. Like many Israelis, I wish to turn the page. To see again the France of the Enlightenment, of human rights and universal values, the France of Victor Hugo, Chateaubriand, Zola, Mendes France, Cassin, Blum and Bloch, and a long list of sincere and loyal friends of Israel. They are true heroes of the nation.
I wish to find a France that does not lose its soul, that of Edmond Giscard d'Estaing who told us 50 years ago, just after Operation Entebbe, and in the face of the indifference of his son Valéry: "Israel has saved the honor of France".
And finally, to hope that one day on July 14th we will see soldiers and female soldiers of the IDF marching alongside French troops on the Champs Elysées…
