Netanyahu's crime: Zionism

The French news channel TELE I (the French equivalent of CNN) prominently noted in its nightly newscast on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the world leaders who took part in the mass rally against terrorism in Paris. Netanyahu's name was mentioned before German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Jordanian King Abdullah II.

Fifty world leaders came to the rally. And TELE I chose to focus to highlight Netanyahu's attendance before the rest. Perhaps this was because the criticism Netanyahu took from one of Israel's evening news programs had not yet reached France. Or perhaps it was because on a day on which France said "no to terrorism," the French media preferred to praise the leader of a country it normally criticizes.

A French reporter said that Netanyahu's meeting with French President Francois Hollande at the La Victorie Grand Synagogue of Paris on Sunday night was one of the highlights of the historic day. At the same time, however, news channels in Israel were reporting that the French had not wanted Netanyahu to come. Ironically, as France sought unity on Sunday, people back in Israel were engaging in their normal habit of setting fires.

And now for the facts: After the attack at the kosher supermarket in Paris on Friday, which followed other attacks against Jews (including, among countless other incidents, the murder of Ilan Halimi in Paris in 2006 and the shootings at a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012), Netanyahu called on French Jews to immigrate to Israel. This is the duty of the leader of the Jewish state. Would David Ben-Gurion or Golda Meir have hesitated to do the same? Ariel Sharon made a similar call for French Jewish immigration to immigration in 2004, and this led to tension between him and the French government. Like today, that was also a tough time for French Jews, who had to deal with hundreds of anti-Semitic incidents as the Second Intifada raged on. I am sorry to tell you the truth: The terrible crime Netanyahu committed is called Zionism.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said, "If 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France." In other words, he urged French Jews to stay. Valls was also doing his justified duty. Just as Netanyahu is a Zionist, Valls is a patriot who cares about the interests of the French republic and its citizens, Christians, Muslims and Jews. So Valls was also doing his job, and his words should be welcomed.

It is true that elections are coming up in Israel, meaning everything immediately becomes a political story. Perhaps jihadists in France should be told not to carry out attacks ahead of elections.

We have become so cynical in recent years. Woe to the leader who dares to curb illegal migration and woe to the leader who tells Jews around the world that Israel is their home. Yet the thousands of French Jews who make aliyah to Israel every year are proof of the truth.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו