Israeli embassy staff in Paris 'deliberately worked to disrupt extremist Smotrich’s visit'

Staff members at the Israeli embassy in France allegedly worked to disrupt extreme-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Paris visit last week, the website of Israeli Channel 12 TV reported on Monday.

Smotrich was in Paris for a two-day summit hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

According to the report, the acting Israeli ambassador didn't go to meet Smotrich at the airport or meet him at all during his stay in Paris, nor did Smotrich meet with any Israeli officials there.

Additionally, the Israeli embassy only sent one staffer to attend Smotrich's commemorative visit to the Jewish supermarket where a terrorist attack took place in 2015 – wishing to reduce embassy representation around the extremist finance minster.

Channel 12 said sources from the Israeli community in France said an embassy staffer had also asked leaders from the Jewish community to show their opposition to Israel's planned judicial changes by boycotting Smotrich's visit.

Commenting on what was revealed by the report, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it would investigate the behaviour of the embassy staff towards the minister seriously, although the ministry had not overseen arrangement of the visit.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported last week that French officials had shunned Smotrich's request for meetings outside the main summit in protest against statements he made while taking part in a meeting two months ago in Paris, in which he claimed that "there is no such thing as the Palestinian people".

Sources from the French embassy in Israel were quoted as saying that Smotrich's office had tried to arrange meetings for him with French officials, but the requests were rebuffed.

Last March, Smotrich previously caused outrage when he called for the Palestinian town of Huwara to be "wiped out"  in an interview with the Israeli Channel 13.

US officials refused to meet him during his trip to the US later that month in which he attended a meeting with an American Jewish organisation.

This article is based on an article which appeared in our Arabic edition by Saleh an-Naami on 13 June 2023. To read the original article click here.