Inviting Israeli writers as the guests of honor at book fairs
in Paris and Turin, Italy, is causing a stir in left-wing
circles and in the French Jewish community, but for different
reasons. Religious and traditional Jews, who comprise the
majority of the active Jewish community in France today, are
concerned over the ignoble representation of Judaism in
secular Israeli literature. Jews are astonished to see the
Israeli government cover the travel costs for these writers
who vilify Israel and Jews and lend support to
Palestinians.
French Jews, battling harsh criticism of Israel in the French
press, find it hard to combat this type of literature. "It
would be hard to convince Jews and non-Jews that what the
Israeli writers describe is entirely fictional and does not
reflect reality," wrote Serge Ben Attar, editor of a Jewish
weekly. "What can we say about the distortion of history or
the desecration of values sacred to Judaism?"
French Jews are unable to come to terms with the Israeli
government's new policy of fostering anti-Jewish and anti-
Israeli rhetoric merely because the writers happen to be
Israeli.
At the Israeli booth you'll even find a swastika — on
the jacket of a book by Avraham Burg, who was speaker of the
Knesset and the former chairman of the Jewish Agency but then
emigrated to France and renounced his Israeli citizenship. In
his book compares Israel to Nazi Germany. The French hastened
to translate it as justification for criticism lodged against
Israel. The publishers admit that these books are not
selling, but the Israeli writers were driven more by
political considerations than commercial ambitions.
Publishing the books is an effort to take advantage of French
Jews' proclivity for anything that bears the name of
Israel.
Despite the message the books carry, Arab states and the
French left are calling for a boycott of the book fair, which
is scheduled to be opened by Israeli President Shimon
Peres.
"The gesture toward Israeli literature will bring disgrace
upon France," reads a petition being circulated by the left
and Muslim organizations headed by Tariq Ramadan, a prominent
Hizbullah supporter in Europe.
The organizer of the book fair, representing the publishers,
defends the event, saying, "We didn't invite the State of
Israel to the fair, but rather Israeli writers, most of whom
support the founding of a Palestinian state."
The recent five-day operation in Gaza shortly before the book
fair is scheduled to open on Monday 3 Adar II, amplified the
protests. These condemnations provide further opportunities
to decry "atrocities, oppression, starving and laying siege
to the Palestinian people." The books on display also contain
remarks of this sort. Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria
cancelled their participation, along with Israeli writer
Aharon Shabtai. Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun spoke out
against the boycott.
In Italy a similar controversy surrounds Israel's invitation
to participate in the book fair in Turin. Italian President
Giorgio Napolitano announced he would open the fair in
response to calls by the radical left to boycott Israel.
Since this year is the 60th year since the founding of the
State of Israel, many public events wish to commemorate
that.
