Outgoing French ambassador to US calls Israel apartheid state
Gerard Araud said Israel is hesitating to make “the painful decision about the Palestinians” – to leave them “totally stateless or make them citizens of Israel.”
The outgoing French ambassador to the United States, a former envoy to Israel, said that Israel is an apartheid state.
Gerard Araud, who last week ended his five-year tenure in Washington, D.C., told the Atlantic in an interview published Friday that Israel is hesitating to make “the painful decision about the Palestinians” – to leave them “totally stateless or make them citizens of Israel.”
“They [Israel] won’t make them citizens of Israel. So they will have to make it official, which is we know the situation, which is an apartheid,” he said. “There will be officially an apartheid state. They are in fact already.”
On Tuesday, Araud clarified in a series of tweets that he does not think that Israel is an apartheid state, just the West Bank.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the French ambassador there for reprimand over the Araud statements. Araud is scheduled to visit Israel early next month, and all Israeli officials have been barred from meeting with him, Haaretz reported.
Araud served as ambassador of France to Israel from 2003 to 2006. His first diplomatic posting was as first secretary at the French Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1982 to 1984.
I am not backpedaling. Israël is not an apartheid state. Why this issue is attracting so much passion from both sides?
— Gérard Araud (@GerardAraud) April 30, 2019
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
