France has banned Israeli delegates, intermediaries, or companies from attending Eurosatory, the prestigious and largest defense exhibition in the world. The show is hosted every two years and boasts 1,700 exhibitors and over 60,000 attendees from over 150 countries.
The decision to ban Israel was based on protests from over 50 NGOs led by Palestinian NGO Al-Haq. They had been successful in getting the French courts to forbid Israel from having their own booth, but weren’t satisfied when they realized that many Israeli companies still had plans to attend.
The Pro-Palestinian NGOs said that they had been unsatisfied with the May 31 decision by the French Defense Ministry to ban Israeli stands, since several of the 74 Israel arms companies that had been set to attend the exhibition by being present at the stands of other companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates. They also sought to prevent Israelis from attending the show to purchase arms.
In short, they went from “No Israeli booth” to “No Jews.”
Making matters even more sickening, they released a statement stating that they would post their decision on the doors to let everyone know that Jews are not allowed. What is this–1940s Germany?
Gee #France, why don’t you just let Israelis enter the #Eurosatory exhibition and make them wear yellow Star of David? Hell, why not just revive the Vichy regime altogether?
This is sickening state-sponsored antisemitism! @franceenisrael @EmmanuelMacron pic.twitter.com/6Usx7bMips
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) June 16, 2024
Read the last line of the first paragraph: “We are also required to display the decision at the entrances to the show.”
The protesters claim that Israel should be excluded on the basis of the “war crimes” being committed in Gaza. Al-Haq also cited the International Court of Justice, the faux-court that recently issued an arrest warrant for the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Notably, China and Turkey were welcome to attend the defense show.
The exhibition organizer, Coges Events, is said to have submitted many appeal requests for the ban, but all were rejected. Rightfully so, the organizer argues that NGOs lack standing and the show is not a commercial sales fair. What they didn’t say, is that Israel is one of the most respected arms manufacturers in the world. Rafael is an Israeli company formed in 1948, a leader in worldwide warfare technology, and the makers of the Iron Dome.
The irony is that even though Israel was banned from the show, Israeli technology was still one of the main attractions. Rafael was set to display their new “Trophy” system at the expo. Either the technology is just so impressive that France decided to allow it in the presentation even if they won’t allow the makers to attend, or perhaps Israeli technology is so widely used among our allies that it wouldn’t have been much of a show without it:
Combat Antisemitism CEO Sacha Roytman had a thing or two to say about the outrageous ban:
“Banning Jewish companies simply because Israel is defending itself against the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust is blatant antisemitism. Today, Israel is at the forefront of the war between Western values and radical Islamism. Countries will soon need to learn from Israel how to combat terrorism effectively,” Roytman said on Social media. “The Holocaust began with laws against Jews. Today, it starts again with laws and courts authorizing the boycott of the only Jewish state. In 1933, no one believed it would lead to the Holocaust and World War II, yet it happened.”
However, it’s not all bad news. There is at least one company that has chosen which side of history they will be on. Italian company Leonardo made their position on the matter clear by leaving a message at their table in this exhibition:
May we all be as brave and as bold to stand up against antisemitism as they are. Israel may have its enemies, but it has many strong allies as well. Together, we can stand against the pervasive ideology of antisemitism and the pro-terrorism that has been sweeping across our nation.
