French Jewish groups pay the price for acting like AIPAC

A snub from Segolene Royal

By Daniel Ben Simon

It was a very embarrassing moment. The scene: the lobby of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. The players: Segolene Royal's spokesman Julian Dray and a representative of CRIF, the umbrella organization of the Jewish community in France. "I have nothing to talk to you about!" said Dray heatedly to the astonished Jewish representative. "You have sold your soul to the other side; you have nothing to look for with us. Go back to your friend Nicolas Sarkozy; he's your landlord."

The CRIF representative tried with all his might to convince Dray that his organization is taking an absolutely objective position with regard to the presidential race in France. But Dray stuck to his guns. "You are going to pay dearly for your one-sided mustering," he went on to shout. "Segolene will be president, and you will have to pray for her to receive you for a discussion."

The incident occurred Sunday evening, a few minutes before the discussion that Royal held with journalists about what she viewed as a successful visit to Israel. Dray, an influential parliament member with the Socialist Party, expressed the anger that has built up in the Royal camp against the Jewish community, and especially against the organization headed by Roger Cukierman.




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It is an open secret that the Jews as an organized body have sworn allegiance to the candidate of the right, Sarkozy. At every opportunity, he meets with them and consults with them. At every opportunity they evince enthusiasm for him that is intended to convey the impression they are supporting him in his race for the presidency.

This is the reason Royal did not accept an invitation to meet with the heads of the organization in recent months. This is also the reason she ignored their existence when she decided at the last minute to pop over to Israel and the reason the party spokesman related to the representative of the organization as though he were a leper.

In the past, French leaders who came to visit Israel would take along a representative of CRIF, to demonstrate their connection to the Jews. Royal came to Israel with her own people and left the people of the organization helpless. The latter scorned her at first and saw her as a passerby who had stumbled into a battle of titans. Later on, when she started to gather momentum, they sent out probes to her camp to create conditions for friendship. When she defeated the men in her party in the first round, the heads of CRIF realized they had erred in their bet. After they recovered from the shock of her victory, they were certain that in the final race, their man, Sarkozy, would defeat her with one hand tied behind his back. And now, the latest surveys are indicating a close race with a slight edge for Royal.

What should they do? They are trying to carry out an elegant retreat and signal to the Royal camp that the Jews, in fact, have not yet decided who they think is the preferable candidate. However, it is possible that CRIF's mustering for Sarkozy has already created a deep crisis of trust with the Royal camp.

It has always happened that when France faces major decisions, the Jews try to appear neutral. In a desperate attempt not to become embroiled with the leading political forces, they have tried to adopt an open-bridges policy in their contacts with the two major parties.

However, recently they have been attacked by an acute desire to resemble the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). For years, the American lobby has been standing up as a defensive wall behind the hawkish views in Israel. The heads of the right have been greeted as heroes at its conferences, whereas the heads of the left have pleaded in vain for similar treatment.

The heads of CRIF took a step and learned it came with a price. "It has never yet happened to us that we have not had a connection with any key person in a candidate's headquarters," admitted a senior figure in the organization.

This is why they are trying to make a pilgrimage to Julian Dray, so he can blaze a path for them to the candidate's heart. However Dray, a declared Jew and staunch supporter of Israel whose brother works here as a doctor, has turned his back on them.

It is no wonder, then, that the first to make accusations against Royal in the wake of her visit to Israel have been the heads of CRIF. While in official Israel they have forgiven her for her stumble in Lebanon and have seen it as the mistake of a novice, the heads of CRIF have attacked her for daring to meet with a Hezbollah representative. The organization has issued an extraordinary statement of condemnation in which it reminded Royal that the Shi'ite organization is responsible for mass murders, and that its radio station disseminates anti-Semitism. All is fair in war - and both sides are sharpening their swords in anticipation of the continuation of the fight.

This situation does not work to the benefit of French Jews, of Israel and of relations between the two countries. CRIF achieved its greatness because it appeared to be a bridge that stretched over the turbulent waters of French politics. This is the reason the elders of the country, no matter from which camp, went to the trouble of accepting every invitation to appear before its members, in the knowledge that the Jewish organization is a French institution that rises above political disputes.

And there is another risk inherent here. When the alliance between the Jews and the presidential candidate of the right becomes a consolidated fact, the voters from Muslim backgrounds will flock to the Socialist candidate to serve as a counterweight to the Jews.

To the extent that the Jews will expect a return for their support of Sarkozy, the Muslims will expect a similar return for their support of Royal. If this happens, the distance between the two communities, which are embroiled in any case, is liable to grow even larger.