Netanyahu charged that the move \u2014 which Paris has framed as an effort to revive the two-state solution in light of the Gaza war \u2014 \u00a0\u201crewards Hamas terror,\u201d hurts hostage talks, \u201cand encourages the Jew-hatred now stalking your streets.\u201d He issued Macron with an ultimatum to act to confront antisemitism in France and change his approach toward Israel by the Jewish new year in late September.<\/p>\n
In response, the Elys\u00e9e Palace slammed the accusation as \u201cabject\u201d and \u201cerroneous,\u201d adding that Netanyahu\u2019s letter \u201cwill not go unanswered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hours before the letter became public, The Times of Israel spoke with the man at the center of the storm, Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Discussing the diplomatic fallout between his native France and the country he immigrated to, Zarka warned that Macron\u2019s plan to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state \u2014 while the Gaza war rages and without demanding concessions from the Palestinians \u2014 is a \u201cterrible mistake\u201d that risks sidelining France as a credible actor in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \t French President Emmanuel Macron participates in a meeting with European leaders in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds \/ AFP)<\/p>\n The ambassador argued that Macron\u2019s tilt against Israel is driven less by fear for Palestinian lives than by fear of France\u2019s growing Muslim minority.<\/p>\n He contended that foreign actors such as Qatar and Iran are fueling a \u201cpropaganda war\u201d that Paris, along with much of the West, has absorbed, leading to unfair and hypocritical criticism of Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza. At the same time, he pointed to rising antisemitism in France as proof of a dangerous climate that is pushing many Jews to consider emigration to Israel.<\/p>\n While insisting that Israel still seeks peace in the long term, Zarka cautioned that Macron\u2019s decisions are destabilizing the region and risk eroding French influence with Israel.<\/p>\n The French Embassy in Israel declined to comment on Zarka\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving Macron?<\/p>\n While emphasizing that \u201cnobody really knows except for the president himself,\u201d Zarka described \u201ca few issues\u201d that he believes are influencing Macron\u2019s decision-making on Israel and the Palestinians.<\/p>\n \u201cOne is internal politics \u2013 the fact that there is a growing Arab street in France, of which the president is afraid,\u201d Zarka said. \u201cFrom his point of view, he has to basically deliver goods to that street to keep the street calm\u2026 in the last year, this is having more and more weight in his decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n Macron has faced mounting tensions<\/a> at home since the Gaza war began. He first pledged full solidarity with Israel, but soon moved toward calls for a ceasefire and more aid for Gaza \u2014 a shift some analysts say was meant to ease pressure from a divided electorate, with Muslim voters largely rallying behind the pro-Palestinian left.<\/p>\n \t People hold a banner that reads, \u2018Palestine will live\u2019, during a pro-Palestinian demonstration against Israel\u2019s actions in the Gaza Strip at the Place de la R\u00e9publique in Paris on July 29, 2025. (Bertrand Guay \/ AFP)<\/p>\n France today has both the largest Muslim and Jewish populations in Europe \u2014 around 10 percent and less than 1% of the population, respectively \u2014 and Zarka suggested Macron believes the Muslim community, many with roots in North African and Middle Eastern communities, will become \u201ca very significant force in France within 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Domestic decisions tied to Israel, such as barring Israeli industries from major Paris air<\/a> and naval<\/a> arms shows, reflect this fear of upsetting the pro-Palestinian camp, Zarka noted.<\/p>\n While Paris frames its move as a response to Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank, Zarka insisted that humanitarian concern is not driving Macron\u2019s foreign policy. \u201cIf there was an ideology that had to do with saving lives, he would do something similar with the Congo or Somalia, where we\u2019re speaking of millions of people dying. And France is not doing anything in these countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Zarka also blamed outside influence, pointing to Qatar and Iran for bankrolling \u201ca propaganda war\u201d that Paris and other Western capitals have absorbed, saying this contributed to \u201ca shift in the decision-making\u201d of France surrounding the Gaza war.<\/p>\n Such influence isn\u2019t hypothetical. Qatar wields extensive soft power<\/a> through media networks like Al Jazeera, global cultural and sporting investments, and high-profile diplomatic roles \u2014 tools that critics say it uses to shape narratives favorable to Palestinian causes and its own regional interests. Iran has also been said to deploy<\/a> online and offline influence campaigns to strengthen anti-Israel perspectives, especially around the Gaza conflict.<\/p>\n \t Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron (L), as they hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena\/Pool\/AFP)<\/p>\n Zarka recalled that in late October 2023, shortly after the Hamas invasion, Macron showed staunch support for Israel, stating after meeting with Netanyahu<\/a> in Jerusalem that countries fighting ISIS \u201cshould also fight against Hamas.\u201d An Elysee official said soon after that France was ready to expand its role in the anti-ISIS coalition \u201cto include Hamas,\u201d depending on Israel\u2019s requests.<\/p>\n The aforementioned coalition was formed by some 86 countries in 2014 to assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS, and eventually drove the terror group from strongholds like Iraq\u2019s Mosul and Syria\u2019s Raqa, with France contributing ground forces, trainers, special forces and fighter jets.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe Macron really wanted to do something significant,\u201d Zarka said, noting that dozens of the approximately 1,200 people killed by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7 were French citizens. But the French quickly realized that joining Israel in a war against Hamas \u2014 unlike the broad fight against ISIS \u2014 \u201cwas not realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n As the Foreign Ministry\u2019s deputy director general for strategic affairs at the time, Zarka said he sat with French officials to clarify Macron\u2019s remarks, but they effectively walked back their president\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n \t Armed Palestinians sit on trucks carrying humanitarian aid near the Zikim border crossing between Israel and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2025. (Khalil Kahlout\/ Flash90)<\/p>\n Furthermore, Macron \u201cdidn\u2019t realize\u201d that Hamas had taken not only 251 Israelis hostage, but had also effectively seized \u201cthe entire population of Gaza\u201d by embedding itself among civilians. \u201cI think he believed Hamas could be defeated through very precise military strikes with no collateral damage.\u201d<\/p>\n As Israel\u2019s offensive dragged on, French criticism of its conduct intensified \u2014 unfairly, in Zarka\u2019s view. He cited claims by French officials<\/a> about the \u201cmilitarization of humanitarian aid,\u201d countering that \u201cIsrael is providing aid, Israel is paying for it. We\u2019re providing tons and tons of food.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel is providing aid, Israel is paying for it. We\u2019re providing tons and tons of food.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tensions spiked after Israel halted all aid deliveries in March, arguing that Hamas was looting supplies and using them to resupply. The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation only began operations in late May, and it quickly came under fire amid reports of IDF shootings near aid sites and its failure to ease the deepening crisis. Israel has further ramped up aid efforts in recent weeks, in response to a global outcry over allegations of widespread starvation.\n<\/p>\n Zarka only vaguely acknowledged missteps \u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s true, we learn that we have our mistakes\u201d \u2014 but insisted Israel was working to improve, and that much of the criticism was misplaced.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen France had its work on ISIS, I don\u2019t remember them providing [aid] to Mosul and Raqa. Yet when we were providing humanitarian assistance in huge quantities\u2026 the only thing that they did was criticize Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018A terrible, terrible mistake\u2019<\/p>\n What makes Macron\u2019s move to recognize a Palestinian state so objectionable to Israel, Zarka said, is both its timing and the lack of conditions attached.<\/p>\n \t Freed Israeli hostage Agam Berger meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris, May 23, 2025. (French Foreign Ministry)<\/p>\n Zarka echoed the anger expressed by other Israeli officials, emphasizing that France is choosing \u201cto recognize a Palestinian state before the war has ended, when there are still hostages in the hands of Hamas, when Hamas is still armed. They\u2019re doing it without conditions, after the massacre that took place on October 7.\u201d<\/p>\n This was a deliberate choice, Zarka added. \u201cThere was a public political debate in France leading up to the decision\u2026 Do we recognize unconditionally, or do we set conditions? The president has chosen to recognize without having the conditions met. And that is a terrible, terrible mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n [France is] giving the Palestinians on a silver platter the recognition of a state without any demand from them. And that is very dangerous.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He contended that Israel already gave the Palestinians \u201ca de facto state\u201d when it withdrew from Gaza in 2005 \u2014 and noted that he was personally involved at the time in trying to persuade Gulf leaders to invest in Gaza\u2019s economy.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI was working with the Gulf, in the Gulf, trying to convince Arab leaders there to contribute to the welfare of Gaza and to create an economy that would be an example to the rest of [the Palestinian population.]\u201d Yet instead of prosperity, he said, Israel received \u201ca base to fire missiles against us.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Zarka emphasized that Israelis have not abandoned the principle of peace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Israeli population, fundamentally, still believes that the only option in the long run, not now, in the very long run, would be peace,\u201d he said. \u201cHow to define peace\u2026 is something that needs to be defined by negotiations between us and the Palestinians,\u201d as opposed to unilateral recognition.<\/p>\n \t Demonstrators protest for a hostage deal in Tel Aviv on August 21, 2025. (Erik Marmor\/Flash90)<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of helping us create the conditions that would lead to peace, they create chaos\u2026 giving the Palestinians on a silver platter the recognition of a state without any demand from them. And that is very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n France insists recognition won\u2019t undermine Israel\u2019s security, praising a June letter<\/a> from Palestinian Authority President Abbas, pledging Hamas\u2019s disarmament, PA reforms and long-delayed elections. But while citing these as crucial for statehood, Paris has not set them as preconditions for French recognition.<\/p>\n Zarka declined to comment on possible Israeli measures<\/a> in response to such recognition or potential French reciprocal action. Earlier this week, reports suggested<\/a> that Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar was weighing shutting France\u2019s consulate in Jerusalem, which Paris said would \u201cprovoke a strong response.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Illustrative: This picture taken on July 17, 2023 shows a graffito in German and French reading \u2018Hail Hitler, death to Jews\u2019 and with a swastika, on a monument in memory of 55 people executed at this site by the Nazis in 1944 during World War II, in Ploeuc-L\u2019Hermitage, some 20km south of Saint-Brieuc, western France. (Damien Meyer \/ AFP)<\/p>\n Instead, Zarka warned of the broader trend: \u201cI think that if France in the past was a force of stability or help in the Middle East, France is becoming more and more a destabilizing power in the Middle East. And that\u2019s something that is worrying us.\u201d<\/p>\n Zarka also described an atmosphere of daily hostility facing French Jews.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t compare what I experienced as a child in France and my family\u2019s experience to what the Jewish community is experiencing today. A day doesn\u2019t pass without some sort of antisemitic incident,\u201d he said, adding that while authorities try to respond, \u201cthe number of events is so high that it\u2019s just impossible for them to deal with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n He said ordinary Jews in France increasingly tell him they want to leave \u2014 \u201cThe moment they realize I\u2019m the ambassador, they say, \u2018We want to immigrate to Israel, when will it be too late?\u2026 We\u2019re not safe here,’\u201d \u2014 and added that his own cousins are considering it.<\/p>\n France on the bench<\/p>\n As a diplomat, Zarka said his instinct is to \u201cfind common ground\u201d rather than escalate, but stressed that \u201cit takes two to tango,\u201d and that France\u2019s steady criticism over Gaza leaves little room for trust.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a very strong connection between France and Israel, between the French and the Israeli people. We have a very rich history together. Let\u2019s not forget that France came to our help when we were attacked by Iran. I truly don\u2019t think Macron hates us or has ill feelings towards Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t Ambassador Joshua Zarka speaks in front of El Al\u2019s Paris office on August 7, 2025. (Courtesy Israeli Embassy in France)<\/p>\n Still, Zarka argued that Macron\u2019s recent decisions on the Palestinians are \u201cdestabilizing rather than constructive,\u201d saying he was \u201cconcerned about the outcome of that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to try to strengthen the bilateral relations. My goal here is not to find ways to punish France,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n Yet he fears that after recognition, \u201cthere will be no trust on our side to work with France on regional issues. I have no doubt that France will be sidelined.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if Paris shares this concern, the ambassador replied simply: \u201cI hope.\u201d<\/p>\n For more on this issue, please check out this Daily Briefing:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ties between Jerusalem and Paris have hit a rough patch, to put it lightly. On Tuesday, Prime Minister…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365920,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5309],"tags":[2000,299,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-365919","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-france","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-france"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115075201649862982","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AFP__20250818__69V92FK__v1__HighRes__TrumpMeetsZelenskyAndEuropeanLeadersInWashingto-e1755713095127-.jpeg\")
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