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Brief Encounter with Elie Barnavi
Nicholas Simon/ France
Israel�s elegant embassy building in Paris was gutted by fire in the early hours of May 23. The blaze occurred as ambassador Elie Barnavi, 55, was preparing to leave after only two years in the post. He spoke to The Report as veteran Labor politician Nissim Zvilli, another French-speaker, was mentioned as a possible successor. Bucharest-born Barnavi, a history professor at Tel Aviv University who has also taught at the Sorbonne, was appointed by Shlomo Ben-Ami, former premier Ehud Barak�s foreign minister.
The Jerusalem Report: How has the fire affected you?
Elie Barnavi: I feel sadness for the loss of collective memory and the efforts and work of dozens of years; but at the same time, great relief that no lives were lost. I thank all the French politicians, police and rescue services, private citizens and institutions, who offered help. I was amazed by the efficiency of our embassy staff and the Foreign Ministry, and I�m sure we�ll rebuild our embassy in Rue Rabelais soon.
Was it an accident, or could it have been arson?
The investigation is still going on, but the signs indicate it was an accident caused by a short circuit.
As a left-wing Zionist, you said on taking the post that you would resign if forced to cross political "red lines." Are you leaving because of disagreements with Prime Minister Sharon�s policies?
I am leaving because my two-year contract is coming to an end. Let�s leave it at that for the time being.
President Chirac asked Ariel Sharon during a telephone conversation to halt what he said was an Israeli campaign accusing France of anti-Semitism. What�s at the bottom of this?
Firstly, Prime Minister Sharon called President Chirac to congratulate him for his triumphant reelection and to express condolences for the Karachi terrorist massacre (of 11 French naval technicians). President Chirac took the opportunity to convey his anger and somewhat overstated his message. But, generally speaking, there is bitterness on both sides because of misunderstandings due to prejudices, distances and lack of knowledge of what is really happening. There were anti-Semitic acts in France and the French authorities were timid in their response. Deputy Foreign Minister (Michael) Melchior made very hard statements about France, which were badly interpreted, but the Israeli press jumped on the bandwagon. Franco-Israeli ties are often on a passionate level: France is a country Israelis love to hate.
So are there reminiscences of the Dreyfus case and of Vichy?
Nonsense. France is not anti-Semitic and the authorities are not anti-Semites. But France has an enormous Muslim Arab community. Practically all the anti-Semitic acts were by Arabs, perhaps encouraged by ultra-leftist anti-Semitism under the guise of anti-Zionism. If there is peace in the Middle East, and anti-Semitic attacks end here as a result, the non-integration of huge immigrant communities will still remain a problem for France and for other European states.
What has been your role in this?
I have tried to explain things to both the French and to Israel, to try to take the passionate, crazy side out of our relationship. The accusation that France is anti-Semitic is a mistake which goes against Israel�s interests. We have enough problems as it is. In the past, I studied and taught in France where I have lots of friends, including among decision makers and the press, to whom I try to present Israel�s case while seeking to prevent (top Israelis) from shooting off their mouths unnecessarily.
What about French foreign policy towards Israel?
Bilateral commercial and cultural ties are rather good and, by and large, unaffected, so far, by diplomatic issues. On a regional level, we have differences but, certainly as far as rhetoric is concerned, the differences are far more serious with Spain, the Scandinavian countries or Belgium. But it is true France likes to sermonize and sometimes has a haughty, lesson-giver attitude. However, the bottom line is that you would have trouble inserting a sheet of cigarette paper between the European and American positions. We have a lot of illusions in Israel but the truth is that, on the big issues -- Jerusalem, settlements, bor-ders -- the Americans are much closer to the Europeans than they are to us.
French officials seem to have excessive affection for Yasser Arafat.
There is no excessive French love for Arafat and I have heard extremely harsh words about him here from the French presidency downwards. When I ask them why they don�t say these things in public, they reply by asking me what alternative there is to him. The French, like the Americans, fear chaos above all. But, even before we blocked him off in Ramallah, it had been a very long time since Arafat came to Paris. President Chirac told me himself that, when Arafat last came, he gave him a dressing down for all the political opportunities he had missed.
So why are they always seen hugging?
Chirac told me it was very difficult to escape from a kiss by Arafat.
What will you do now ?
I�m going back to teach at Tel Aviv University. I want to start reading again and be able to move about without being surrounded by bodyguards. Also, I want to go home.
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Nicholas Simon
Israel
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