Their response was swift. Representative bodies and religious authorities of the French Jewish community voiced their doubts, and for some, even their opposition, just hours after Emmanuel Macron announced, on Thursday evening, July 24, his intention to recognize a Palestinian state. Taking a leading stance on the issue, on which it had already expressed its opinion several times, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) immediately condemned in a press release “a moral failing, a diplomatic mistake and a political danger.”
The organization had previously published a similar statement in Le Figaro in June, when the president was considering the initiative but postponed it at the last minute. The organization believes that the planned recognition, scheduled for September, would “be brandished by Hamas as a symbolic victory.” CRIF described it as “a reward for the October 7 terrorism, which left more than 1,200 victims, including 50 French citizens.”
“Hamas will inevitably derive political benefit from this,” explained Yonathan Arfi, its president. “They will say that their attitude pays off, that their strategy was the right one. One might think we are isolating them with this approach, but in reality, they will only be strengthened.” As stated in the press release, he believes that “the Palestinians should not be granted at the beginning of negotiations what they ought to obtain at the end of the process,” as this could undermine peace talks. In response to footage of starving children and increasingly alarming reports of famine in Gaza, Arfi said, “Feelings are of course always legitimate. The distress of the civilian population affects everyone, and we are sensitive to that.”
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