Controversy has erupted in France over plans for a lavish VIP gala in Paris sponsored by Israel is Forever, an association of staunchly pro-Zionist groups, reports FRANCE 24.
At €260 a head, the evening celebrating “the power and history of Israel” – the location of which has not yet been disclosed – has already drawn vocal opposition from French human rights groups, unions and leftist politicians.
“Holding this gala in the French capital would constitute an insult to international law and contempt for the UN and for the orders issued by the highest international court,” seven civil rights group wrote in an open letter last week, referencing International Court of Justice rulings that included calling on Israel to prevent acts of “genocide” in Gaza.
The leader of Israel is Forever has made headlines for dismissing the human toll of the war in Gaza, saying that no one in Gaza was “innocent”.
"The civilian population put Hamas in power knowing full well what its programme was, that is to say, the extermination of Israel,” French-Israeli lawyer Nili Kupfer-Naouri told far-right French news site CNews in October 2023. “Go and see the Hamas demonstrations, where there are 1-year-old children dressed in Hamas colours.”
“There is no innocent civilian population in Gaza," she proclaimed.