France did not take part in drafting the Palestinian Authority’s proposed constitution released earlier this month, which enshrines payments to terrorists in Israeli prisons, the French Embassy in Israel told Jewish Insider, despite PA President Mahmoud Abbas and French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of a joint committee on the matter last year.

The embassy told JI that the constitution’s “first draft was not written in coordination with France, and we were exposed to it with the broader public.”

“As part of the joint committee to strengthen the building of a Palestinian state … a delegation of French constitutional law experts is expected to examine the draft that was published and present recommendations,” the embassy spokeswoman stated.

Ofer Bronchtein, Macron’s advisor on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, told JI that the committee had met “here and there,” but like the embassy spokeswoman, did not know when they would meet next.

France recognized a Palestinian state last September and after Abbas wrote a letter to Macron saying he was committed to a two-state solution while calling for “an end of the Israeli occupation.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot interpreted the letter as promising “the end of allowances for the families of prisoners convicted on terrorism offences.” 

Macron and Abbas met in Paris in November to announce a committee to establish the framework for a Palestinian state, including drafting a constitution. France reportedly raised concerns to the Palestinians about its practice of paying terrorists and their families, and Macron said after the meeting that Abbas agreed to an audit by an American company to ensure that the payments had ended.

Abbas had previously promised to stop the payments to terrorists last February, yet i24News  reported on Wednesday that the PA had paid NIS 500 million ($161 million) to terrorists and their families in the past year. The PA has granted monthly payments, higher than the average Palestinian salary, to those imprisoned for committing or attempting acts of terror, or to their families. The amount paid increases with a longer prison sentence, thus incentivizing killing more Israelis.

The day before the presidents’ meeting, Abbas fired his finance minister, Omar Bitar, for continuing the payments, but Israel has accused Abbas of not intending to end the program, called “pay for slay” by its critics.

The PA draft constitution, published this month, includes two articles guaranteeing “protection and care for the families of martyrs, and the wounded, and prisoners, and those released from the occupation prisons, and the victims of genocide,” as well as “comprehensive care for the families of martyrs, the wounded, and prisoners, and those released.” One of the articles is part of the “public rights and freedoms” chapter, of which the draft states: “it is not permissible to conduct any constitutional amendment.”

The French Embassy said that when it comes to “the matter of ‘pay for slay,’ our stance is known and clear: This phenomenon must stop. The PA made a commitment to France on this matter, and it will be examined through an independent audit. We will act with determination and without compromising on this matter.”

Bronchtein argued that Abbas has stopped paying “those regarded in Israel as terrorists,” and that there should be universal social security for Palestinians.

“All families would have rights, without being linked to the criminal acts of certain family members. In Israel, for example, the families of [Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s murderer] Yigal Amir or [Hebron massacre terrorist] Baruch Goldstein have rights like any other family — no more and no less,” he suggested.

Bronchtein is not a member of the joint committee, but took part in the meeting between Macron and Abbas in November. He said that “a group of jurists — French, and above all Palestinian — will finalize [the PA constitution]. The French constitutional model has inspired many countries, including the United States.”  

“Palestinians and Israelis ultimately need to decide both their constitutional framework and their borders; that would resolve a large part of what opposes them [to each other],” he said. Israel does not have a constitution.

According to Bronchtein, Abbas promised France that parties or individuals advocating violence would not be able to run in elections. However, that rule is not part of the constitution.

The draft also refers to Jerusalem as “the capital of the State of Palestine,” and states that the PA is “committed to preserving [Jerusalem’s] religious character and protecting its Islamic and Christian sanctities.” It does not mention Jews or Judaism.

Bronchtein said that Jerusalem “is, and will remain, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. President Macron has acknowledged this. Al-Quds” — the Arabic name for Jerusalem — “would be the capital of Palestine; they are two different cities, but I believe they should remain united.”

“The Old City of Jerusalem — less than 1% of the city — should be open to everyone, as it was for a long time,” he added.  

Emmanuel Navon, a longtime international relations lecturer at Israeli universities and CEO of the new Euro-Med Middle East Council, said that he “didn’t expect a Zionist manifesto” from the constitution, but that the French advisors should take note of “how this constitution relates to the Jewish people and their relation to the land. … Describing Jerusalem as only for Muslims and Christians says it all.”

Navon called the draft constitution a “joke.”

“Abbas did it because Macron said that, before he recognizes a Palestinian state, they needed to promise to be a democracy based on liberal values,” Navon said. “Abbas was elected in 2005 for a four-year term, and now he has a constitution? The whole thing is BS.”

“When they put pay for slay in the constitution, it shows that they don’t take Macron seriously,” Navon added.

Navon also took issue with France presenting itself as an expert on writing constitutions. 

“One of the amazing achievements of the Fifth Republic [established in 1958] is that it managed to finally grant France a stable, functioning regime after almost 200 years since the revolution in which it went back and forth between republic, empire and constitutional monarchy. The regimes in the Third and Fourth Republics were completely unstable because of an extreme system of parliamentary politics where governments lasted an average of eight months. … Macron took France back to the Fourth Republic — he’s had five prime ministers in two years,” Navon explained.

“That adds to the irony of [Macron] going around advising people on constitutional law,” he added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, after Netanyahu linked the terror attack in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, to Canberra’s support for a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu highlighted in a speech on Sunday that he had warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that Canberra’s recognition of a Palestinian state was fueling antisemitism and endangering Australian Jews. Netanyahu further accused Albanese of failing to take action against antisemitism.

Sanders issued a statement in response on Tuesday: “No, Mr. Netanyahu. Speaking out on behalf of the Palestinian people is not antisemitic. Opposing the disgraceful policies of your extremist government is not antisemitic. Condemning your genocidal war, which has killed more than 70,000 people — mostly women and children — is not antisemitic. Demanding that your government stop bombing hospitals and starving children is not antisemitic.”

He said that “we must continue to oppose antisemitism and all forms of racism and bigotry. At the same time, we must demand a world in which international law and human rights are respected by all governments, without exception.”

Sanders opted against signing onto a joint statement issued Monday by Jewish Senate Democrats condemning the Sydney attack. Asked about his decision not to join the collective statement from Jewish Senate Democrats, a Sanders spokesperson pointed JI to Sanders’ comment on Sunday mourning the attack, in which the Vermont senator called antisemitism “a disgusting and cowardly ideology” that is “growing worldwide” and added, “we must be equally committed to fighting all forms of” bigotry. 

The members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition spent much of the weekend arguing over something on which they all ostensibly agree — opposition to a Palestinian state. 

They may have been expressing their long and openly held opinions, but the timing could be damaging, coming days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to visit the White House. In the meeting, slated for Tuesday, President Donald Trump is expected to push for normalization between Riyadh and Jerusalem — something the Saudis have long conditioned on tangible steps towards a Palestinian state.

The latest debate started with far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who recently apologized for saying the Saudis can “keep riding camels” rather than normalize ties with Israel in exchange for a Palestinian state. On Saturday night, Smotrich said that Netanyahu was responsible for a “dangerous” increase in pressure on Israel, criticizing the prime minister for not speaking up more forcefully after nearly a dozen countries recognized a Palestinian state earlier this year. “Immediately come up with an appropriate and decisive response that will make clear to the entire world that a Palestinian state will not be established in our homeland,” Smotrich wrote on X.

Next came Likud ministers. “Israel will not agree to the establishment of a terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar asserted. “Israel’s policy is clear: A Palestinian state will not be established,” chimed in Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The impetus for reiterating their position was the U.S.-proposed resolution at the United Nations Security Council backing Trump’s plan for Gaza and the formation of an International Stabilization Force, leading to a scenario in which “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” 

It’s unclear where these Cabinet ministers were in late September, when Netanyahu signed onto Trump’s 20-step plan, which uses the exact same language.

The Saudis saw Netanyahu’s agreement to a horizon for Palestinian statehood as satisfying their demand for a step in that direction, an Israeli diplomatic source who frequently advises Netanyahu said earlier this month.

But the pressure from the right was such that Netanyahu said at the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting that “our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory west of the Jordan River exists and stands and has not changed at all.”

That apparent reversal of what Netanyahu agreed to less than two months ago could cause serious harm to Trump’s efforts to try to make Saudi Arabia the crown jewel of the Abraham Accords, a move that Netanyahu has long said would be greatly beneficial to Israel.

Elsewhere in Jerusalem, top opposition figures have sounded the alarm on the possibility of a Saudi domestic nuclear enrichment program and Riyadh purchasing F-35 planes. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the government “lacks the ability to say ‘no.’ Faced with the initiative to establish a Palestinian state — silence. … Faced with those around us being armed with F-35s — silence.” Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter told The Jerusalem Post, “There’s no indication that Israel’s qualitative edge will be compromised.”

While Netanyahu and his ministers have been silent on other expected elements of MBS’ planned visit to Washington, there have been behind-the-scenes efforts to ensure Israel’s qualitative military edge is maintained. 

The question remains, then, if these incentives are removed or downgraded, whether the Saudis will still want to normalize relations with Israel.

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH), in a webinar with Democratic Majority for Israel on Tuesday, emphasized that colleagues who push to block aid to Israel or recognize a Palestinian state risk emboldening Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran when they are on their back foot.

Landsman also laid out what he sees as preconditions for rebuilding Democratic support for the Jewish state.

“Saying, ‘We’re going to withhold aid, we’re going to unilaterally call for a Palestinian state’ — which exists where? Is that all of Israel? What are you talking about? — that suggests to Hamas, ‘Maybe we should keep fighting,’” Landsman said. “I don’t think that’s their intent. I think that it’s entirely appropriate to be critical of the government and decisions … without abandoning our ally.”

“Witholding aid does undermine our ally in a way that is really significant,” Landsman continued.

He said he’s trying to push colleagues in that direction. He added later that he believes that the war in Gaza is a “just war,” even if “it needs to come to an end.”

Asked about the longer-term path toward rebuilding Democratic support for Israel, Landsman said that an end to the war and new leadership in Israel would likely be critical steps in that direction.

“Once we get on the other side of this and we have a government that’s really actively pursuing peace, then the path for a lot of these folks who have felt alienated, to come back. I think is pretty clear,” Landsman said. 

He added that peace must also come alongside continued efforts to beat back threats. “You do have to take out these terror armies, and you have to marginalize and completely sideline Iran as a threat, which is going to require constant work.”

He said he was encouraged to see the deal put forward by the Trump administration on Monday, arguing that the war “needs to end for a whole host of reasons,” including freeing the hostages and surging aid into Gaza.

“Israel’s standing in the international community has been diminished, which is a key strategy for Hamas. And this is one of the reasons why I think Netanyahu has got to figure out a way to end this war, because Hamas is succeeding at delegitimizing Israel in a way that is really harmful, way more so than anything it could do militarily,” Landsman said. “I think you’ve got to take that off the table, and that means ending the war.”

Landsman also said that “there’s still limited pressure on Hamas to end this war” and called on the Trump administration to employ “maximum leverage, maximum pressure” on the group, including by detaining Hamas leaders in Qatar.

He added that surging aid is “the right thing to do, it’s the Jewish thing to do and it’s also just strategically what has to happen if Israel is going to maintain its standing in the world and continue to get support.”

He said that positive steps are being taken but added that there are “serious issues with UNRWA that the U.N. and the international community have not gotten serious about.”

He also emphasized the need for an Arab-nation compact to bring the war to an end and deradicalize and rebuild Gaza with a new government that seeks peace with Israel.

“Get all 22 of them involved in a very formal and committed, long-term, sustainable way,” Landsman said. “I think that helps achieve the goals that we collectively have for ending this war and getting Gaza to a place where Hamas is gone, the strip is deradicalized and we’re in a position to help them rebuild with a new governing authority that wants peace with the state of Israel.”

Landsman suggested that such an effort could also unlock Arab-Israeli peace.

“An Israel that’s seeking peace is quite popular. I think that’s what [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman] would support. Once this war is over and there is a pathway to peace because these terror armies have been defeated … I think these folks do come back and say, ‘Okay, let’s be part of something,’” Landsman continued.

He said that the Trump administration needs a larger team, working full-time, on pursuing Middle East peace in the longer term. “You’ve got to get ironclad commitments from all of these countries. It’s got to be formal. They’ve got to come together in a formal, sustainable way.”

Without continuous White House pressure and attention, he warned that any peace that is reached is likely to crumble.

Forty-seven progressive House Democrats, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), signed onto a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling for the U.S. to recognize a Palestinian state on the heels of similar decisions by European allies last week.

“It has long been acknowledged by much of the international community and previous U.S. administrations of both major political parties that a Palestinian state recognized as a full and equal member of the community of nations is necessary to fulfill the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and ensure the state of Israel’s survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people,” the letter, which was first reported on by Jewish Insider, reads.

The lawmakers argue that because the current Israeli government opposes a two-state solution — a position currently shared by much of Israeli society — and is “actively undermin[ing]” the prospects of an independent Palestinian state, “meaningful action is necessary to join the majority of the world in codifying Palestinian statehood and to unlock the potential for a broader regional peace and security arrangement.”

Trump vowed last week week that he would not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

The letter also claims that recognizing Palestinian statehood would make reform of the Palestinian Authority “far more achievable and sustainable.”

Signatories to the letter include Reps. Becca Balint (D-VT), Donald Beyer (D-VA), André Carson (D-IN), Greg Casar (D-TX), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Bill Foster (D-MA), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), John Garamendi (D-CA), Chuy García (D-IL), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Robert Garcia (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Val Hoyle (D-OR), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Emily Randall (D-WA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

Dexter and Garcia were both beneficiaries of significant outside spending from AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC in their primary races, running against farther-left anti-Israel opponents.

Balint and Schakowsky are both Jewish. Davis, Evans and Schakowsky are retiring from Congress at the end of their current terms.

Many of the furthest-left lawmakers in the House, including some of the Jewish state’s most outspoken critics, did not sign onto Khanna’s letter, nor did some of the more moderate Democrats backing a concurrent effort to place strict restrictions on U.S. aid to Israel.

The letter is backed by groups including American Muslims for Palestine, DAWN, Emgage Action, Indivisible, J Street, MoveOn, MPower, Muslim Public Affairs Council, New Jewish Narrative and the Quincy Institute.

There is a notable split on this issue within the Democratic caucus: Khanna’s letter follows a letter from 30 moderate pro-Israel Democrats condemning unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state as “performative” and saying that doing so risks “emboldening Hamas, entrenching division, and undermining the very legitimacy and peace such recognition purports to advance.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have much to respond to when he stands in front of the United Nations General Assembly’s green marble wall today: a cascade of Palestinian state recognitions by Western countries, a flotilla of activists, influencers and parliamentarians — protected by Spanish and Italian naval ships — and accusations of genocide leveled from the UNGA stage.

On the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Netanyahu vowed to “tell our truth — citizens of Israel, the truth of IDF soldiers, of our state.”

“I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists and burners of children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen,” Netanyahu said ahead of his departure from Israel.

Netanyahu also plans on attacking what he perceives as the moral bankruptcy of countries he sees as rewarding the perpetrators of the Oct. 7 attack and casting Israel as a villain. His arrival in New York was accompanied by an advertising campaign launched by his office on billboards and trucks driving around Turtle Bay and Times Square with the message “Remember October 7.”

The signs also feature a QR code that leads to a site depicting the atrocities of that day.

“The goal of the campaign is to remind world leaders and the public about the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and the unbelievable brutality of the terrorist organization that continues to hold 48 hostages in captivity in Gaza,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Ahead of the speech, Wing of Zion — Israel’s version of Air Force One — took a route that is hundreds of kilometers longer than usual, apparently to avoid the airspace of countries that might act on the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest. 

Wing of Zion flew from Israel over the Mediterranean to Greek and Italian airspace, and then continued crossing over the Mediterranean until it reached the Atlantic Ocean.

The route was longer than the one he took to the U.S. in July, which overpassed France. A French diplomatic source said that Jerusalem asked Paris for authorization to fly over its airspace, which it provided, but the plane took another route anyway.

After France led the charge in the West to recognize a Palestinian state, Netanyahu was not taking any chances and chose not to rely on the goodwill of those same leaders who days earlier unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state.

Upon his arrival in New York, Netanyahu met with friendlier leaders: President Javier Milei of Argentina, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The readouts from the meetings focused on the theme of Netanyahu’s visit; he thanked the leaders for their “staunch opposition to anti-Israel bias at the United Nations.” 

With Vučić, Netanyahu also discussed Alon Ohel, a dual Israeli-Serbian citizen held hostage by Hamas, which released a video of him this week.

In a move that has sent ripples through diplomatic circles and sparked outrage in Jerusalem, multiple countries — including some of Israel’s key allies — officially recognized a Palestinian state yesterday. The coordinated announcements by the U.K., Canada, Australia and Portugal, with more to come, mark a significant shift in the West’s posture — one that, while largely symbolic, underlines concerns about growing efforts to isolate Israel diplomatically.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“The man-made humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new depths. The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable,” he said.

While Starmer said that the move toward a two-state solution “is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future,” the terror group hailed it as “a gesture to the struggle, steadfastness and sacrifices of our people on the path to liberation and return.” 

In President Donald Trump’s meeting with Starmer last week, Trump described the statehood push as “one of our few disagreements.”

The chain of Palestinian statehood recognition is unlikely to bring any immediate changes on the ground. As U.K. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said yesterday in an interview with Sky News, “any decision to recognize a Palestinian state … does not make a Palestinian state happen overnight. That has to be part of a peace process, it has to be based on 1967 borders, it has to be based on a shared capital in Jerusalem. That will be for final-status discussions. But it is to keep that process alive.”

Lammy stressed that the U.K. rejects any role for Hamas, “has been crystal clear that it is a terrorist organization” and is working on efforts to reform the Palestinian Authority. 

Israel and many of its supporters have slammed the move as rewarding terrorism, as the country continues its war against Hamas in Gaza, where 48 hostages kidnapped during the group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attacks remain in captivity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has “a clear message to the leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the terrible massacre of Oct. 7: You are giving a massive prize to terror. … It will not happen. There will not be a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.” Netanyahu hinted that Israel will increase settlement activity in response. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and several other coalition members went a step further by calling for annexation of the West Bank, which Saudi Arabia has reportedly said would have “major implications.” Read more on Netanyahu’s reaction and upcoming UNGA speech here.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) delivered a scathing assessment of the statehood development, writing on X: “80 years after the end of WWII, where over 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis for simply being Jewish, the so-called civilized world is rewarding modern day religious Nazis with an arbitrary Palestinian state designation,” pointing to the lack of defined borders, leadership, and security arrangements.

The Hostages Families Forum also condemned the decision, saying in a statement: “As families who deeply want peace in the region, we believe that any discussion about recognizing a Palestinian state must be contingent upon the immediate release of all hostages … Any nation that fails to uphold this essential prerequisite acts against international law and effectively enables terrorism while legitimizing the October 7th massacre.”

Additional countries are expected to recognize a Palestinian state later today — on the eve of Rosh Hashanah — at the High-Level Conference on Palestine Statehood, led by France and Saudi Arabia.

And well into Rosh Hashanah tomorrow, when Israeli officials will be observing the Jewish high holiday, the U.N. Security Council will hold a critical meeting on the Gaza war. 

In the face of these efforts to sideline Israel, Netanyahu is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, where he’s set to push back forcefully against the recognitions and reassert Israel’s red lines.

In Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that he will “present the truth. It is the truth of Israel, but it is also the objective truth of our just struggle against the forces of evil. I will also present our vision for true peace, peace that grows out from strength. … We have to fight both in the U.N. and in all the other fronts against the slanderous propaganda aimed at us, and against the calls to create a Palestinian state that will endanger our existence and constitute an absurd prize for terrorism.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday is being overshadowed by European moves to isolate Israel, with the U.K., as well as Canada and Australia recognizing a Palestinian state on Sunday and more to come, as well as an upcoming EU vote on sanctions against Israel.

Netanyahu released a statement, in which he said he has “a clear message to the leaders who recognize a Palestinian state after the terrible massacre of Oct. 7: You are giving a massive prize to terror. … It will not happen. There will not be a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.”

The prime minister hinted that Israel will increase settlement activity in response: “For years I prevented the establishment of this terror state facing great pressures, domestic and foreign … Not only that, we doubled the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. The response to the latest attempt to force a terror state on us in the heart of our land will be given after my return from the U.S. Wait.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday that his country is “acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution. That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither.” 

He pushed back against the Israeli argument that recognition of a Palestinian state at this time acts as a reward for Hamas, arguing that “our call for a genuine two-state solution is the exact opposite of [Hamas’] hateful vision. … This solution is not a reward for Hamas, because it means Hamas can have no future.” 

Hamas, however, praised the recognition as an “important move” and called for it to be accompanied by ending the “Judaization of the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israel’s isolation and Israel’s leaders brought before international court,” as well as the recognition of the Palestinians’ “natural right to resistance.”

The High-Level Conference on Palestine Statehood, led by France and Saudi Arabia, is set to take place Monday, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Nearly a dozen countries have said they would recognize a Palestinian state as part of that effort, following the announcements of the U.K., Canada and Australia on Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron argued in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News that “recognition of a Palestinian state is the best way to isolate Hamas … What they want is to destroy [Israel], but if we consider that the Palestinian state will always have the objective to destroy Israel, how [do] they want to build a sustainable future? There is no way.” 

A recent poll commissioned by the French-Jewish umbrella organization CRIF found that 71% of French people reject the recognition of a Palestinian state before the hostages are freed and Hamas gives up power. In the U.K., a survey in The Telegraph showed 87% of Britons disagree with recognition of a Palestinian state without preconditions, including 89% of Labour voters. A YouGov poll, however, found that 44% of Britons supported the move, while 18% were opposed and 37% unsure.

U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner noted that in conjunction with his announcement of Palestinian state recognition, Macron called for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, the demilitarization of Hamas and the establishment of strong governance for the Palestinians as preconditions for any recognition of Palestinian statehood. “These were France’s own conditions for recognition of a Palestinian state. How can France move forward with next week’s vote when none of these have been met?” Kushner said.

Netanyahu, who was Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. from 1984-1988, is known to relish his addresses to the U.N. General Assembly, embracing theatrical props, puns and long pauses on a platform where he hopes to capture the world’s attention for Israel’s benefit. 

After his UNGA speeches, Netanyahu holds court, with other leaders visiting him in a conference room in Turtle Bay. This year, he is expected to meet with Argentinian President Javier Milei, the leaders of Paraguay and Serbia and New York Mayor Eric Adams, and there are reports that he will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa ahead of a possible security agreement between Damascus and Jerusalem. Then, Netanyahu is expected to fly to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Economy Ministry, which oversees foreign trade, have been pushing back against proposed European Union sanctions. The European Commission proposed the roll-back of relations between the bloc and Israel after it “found that actions taken by the Israeli government represent a breach of essential elements relating to respect for human rights” given “the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza following the military intervention of Israel, the blockade of humanitarian aid, the intensifying of military operations and the decision of the Israeli authorities to advance the settlement plan in the so-called E1 area of the West Bank, which further undermines the two-state solution.” 

The proposal, if accepted, would suspend free trade between Israel and the European Union, its largest trade partner.

A source in Brussels estimated that the move would cost Israel 227 million Euros ($266 million) in customs duties per year. 

A date has not yet been set for voting on the suspension of free trade, which requires a qualified majority, also known as a “double majority,” meaning 55% of member states, and states representing 65% of the EU population, with at least four states opposed.

Hungary and the Czech Republic said they would oppose the proposal, following calls between their foreign ministers and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. 

Sa’ar called the proposal “morally and politically distorted.”

“Moves against Israel will harm Europe’s own interests,” Sa’ar warned. “Israel will continue to struggle, with the help of its friends in Europe, against attempts to harm it while it is in the midst of an existential war. Steps against Israel will be answered accordingly, and we hope we will not be required to take them.”

Economy Minister Nir Barkat sent letters to Germany, Hungary, Czechia, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia and Latvia asking them to oppose the measure to suspend free trade.

The European Commission also suspended 20 million Euros ($23.5 million) in projects with Israel, dealing with civil service training and regional-EU cooperation related to the Abraham Accords, through 2027. The commission was able to end the cooperation without a vote and noted in repeated statements that it was exempting “civil society and Yad Vashem.” 

In addition, the European Commission proposed sanctions against Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, as well as “violent settlers” and 10 members of the Hamas politburo, which would require a unanimous vote by EU member states. The ban on Israelis is unlikely to be approved, especially not the cabinet ministers.

In another sign of Israel’s increased isolation in Europe, several countries’ public broadcasters said they would boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel were to take part, as it usually does.

Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland have said they will not participate in the contest along with Israel, and Belgium threatened to follow suit. 

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that it will continue to be “a significant part in this cultural event, which cannot become political.”

“Israel is one of the most successful participants in the Eurovision contest — in the past seven years its songs and representatives have finished in 5th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st place,” Kan CEO Golan Yochpaz said. 

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, whose country is due to host the Eurovision next year, posted on X that the contest “is a symbol of peace, unity, and cultural exchange — not an instrument for sanctions.” 

A group of seven Senate Democrats introduced a resolution on Thursday calling for the U.S. to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

The resolution was led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and co-sponsored by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

The resolution came in conjunction with plans by several U.S. allies to recognize a Palestinian state and alongside a similar push from progressive House lawmakers. Merkley and Van Hollen recently traveled to Israel and released a scathing report accusing Israel of deliberate ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.

“Recognition of a Palestinian state is not only a practical step the United States can take to help build a future where Palestinians and Israelis can live in freedom, dignity, and security, but it is the right thing to do. America has a responsibility to lead, and the time to act is now,” Merkley said in a statement. “The goal of a Palestinian state can’t be put off any longer if we want the next generation to avoid suffering from the same insecurity and affliction.”

The resolution’s sponsors claimed that it constitutes a reaffirmation of long-standing U.S. support for a two-state solution.

The legislation highlights that “administrations of both political parties in the United States have long affirmed that a negotiated two-state solution is the only viable path to an enduring peace in the region” — but does not acknowledge that policymakers have traditionally seen unilateral recognition as contrary to that principle of a solution negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Kaine said that the Israeli government’s rejection of a two-state solution should cause the U.S. to change its own policies.

“Since July 2024 when the Israeli Knesset voted to deny a path to Palestinian statehood and made clear that Israel would not accept Palestinian autonomy, I have believed the U.S. should no longer condition recognition on Israeli assent but rather on Palestinian willingness to live in peace with its neighbors,” Kaine said. “We must redouble our efforts to work toward a future where Israelis and Palestinians alike can live in peace, security, and dignity.”

Welch said in a statement that “recognizing a two-state solution is long overdue and the only way forward — something Republican and Democratic Administrations have agreed on for decade. … This resolution signals Congress’ continued commitment for an enduring two-state solution for peace for the people of Israel and Palestine.” 

Though the U.S. has supported a two-state solution, no previous administration has backed unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Van Hollen said in a statement that Congress should assert its own stance on the issue because “the Netanyahu government has obstructed that goal [of a two-state solution] and the Trump Administration has abandoned it.”

The resolution condemns the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 and the group’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist and calls for Palestinian elections, as well as noting that some Arab states have conditioned normalization with Israel on a path to a Palestinian state.

“Failure to advance a two-state solution risks entrenching an unacceptable permanent occupation, further destabilizing the region, and undermining United States interests and values,” the legislation states.

It calls on Hamas to surrender and release the hostages and on Israel to end the war in Gaza.

J Street supported the resolution.

TOKYO — As Japan decided against recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen told Jewish Insider in a wide-ranging interview in Tokyo that he is appreciative of Japan, “an important factor of the international community.” 

On Friday evening, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya called his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, to update him that after weeks of deliberation, Japan decided it will not recognize a Palestinian state at the UNGA. 

“Sa’ar appreciated [the] decision and briefed [Iwaya] about Israel’s actions against Hamas chiefs in Qatar and IDF operations in Gaza,” Cohen told JI. “I join my foreign minister in appreciating Japan, a member of the G7, and an important factor of the international community, and for the deep friendship of our nations.” 

“A recognition of a Palestinian state would be a reward to Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, would not contribute to peace and would not build on the trust of Israelis in the future,” he said. In recent weeks, Cohen relayed that message to Japanese ministers as the country weighed recognizing a Palestinian state as several governments, including those in Britain, France, Australia and Canada, have announced plans to do at the UNGA.

“This recognition is null and void because when you acknowledge a state there have to be conditions — what are the boundaries? Do you have effective control of the population? Nothing about that works with the Palestinians,” Cohen told JI. “Are they going to dismantle Hamas? Are they going to continue paying salaries for families of suicide bombers? Are they going to continue to have pacts with Iran against Israel? Is there going to be a repetition of Oct. 7 because they have a state? We are the Jewish people, we always have to be concerned and worried.” 

For Cohen, who assumed office as ambassador of Israel to Japan in October 2021 following a stint as deputy director general for Asia and Pacific division in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan’s consideration of recognizing a Palestinian state has been one of only a few disagreements he’s held with local politicians since arriving in Tokyo. In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks, “the Japanese government stood by Israel, called for an immediate and unconditional release of our hostages and said publicly that Hamas should be dismantled,” Cohen said.

“I thank the Japanese for acknowledging that Hamas is a terrorist organization and for saying that Iran is the number one destabilizer of the region. I want to thank the Japanese government for standing on the right side of history.”

When war broke out between Israel and Hamas soon after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Japan, as a member of the U.N. Security Council, “was trying to influence the release of the hostages and not to [attack] Israel. They were not mediating, but there were messages Japan was trying to deliver for both sides in order to bring our hostages back,” Cohen recalled. 

Looking ahead to the postwar period, Cohen suggested that Japan will contribute to rebuilding the Palestinian economy. “We will welcome any kind of investment in the Palestinian economy to revive it,” he said. “Economy is a major part of the vision of Palestinians living side by side with Israelis in peace and security.”  

While tourism from Japan to Israel has seen a decline amid the war, Cohen said that joint business ventures between the two countries have increased over the past two years, as Israeli tech companies engage with Japan’s industrial giants and venture capital networks.

“Investments from Japanese companies in Israel were much higher in 2024 than 2023, including in AI and technology,” he said. “There is a saying that Israel can do things from zero to one and Japanese can take them from one to 10. Israeli innovation and startups can be combined with Japanese wisdom, experience and production ability that Israel doesn’t have.”

When it comes to creating cars, for example, an area that Japan is a global leader in, “Israel should focus on the brain of the car, systems that prevent accidents such as Waze and Mobileye,” said Cohen. “The synergy that we can learn from Japan — and we can share our experience with them — I see a lot of potential in economic relations. Japanese companies are looking at Israeli startups with great interest. In the last two and a half years, there have been direct flights from Israel to Japan, which is important because businessmen and investors do not have time to waste. This is an engine for connecting the people of Israel and Japan.” 

Israel is among the handful of countries that Japan has a free trade deal with, an agreement signed by Cohen in March 2023. It allows 200 Israelis to come to Japan annually on a visa for one year of work, study and travel. At the same time, 200 Japanese citizens can come to Israel for one year to do the same.

Cohen sees himself not only as an ambassador of Israel “but also as representing the Jewish people in Japan,” he said, describing a small but vibrant community. Tokyo is home to two Chabad houses and a Jewish community center, which runs a pluralistic synagogue. The cities of Kyoto and Kobe also each have a Chabad. All five centers primarily cater to tourists. 

It can be a challenge to navigate Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness in a country with limited historical exposure to those issues, Cohen said, recommending that all Japanese visit the Holocaust Education Center in Fukuyama City, near Hiroshima. 

“The Japanese government comes to commemorate our Holocaust memorial days,” Cohen told JI. “They give thanks to [Chiune] Sugihara,” he said, referring to the Japanese diplomat who, while posted in Lithuania, saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. “We are participating in ceremonies to commemorate him. In Japan, he became a hero.”

“I see a lot of potential in the future when things calm down in the region,” continued Cohen. “I would like to have future agreements signed with Japan to boost the economy on both sides. I have many things on my agenda, but this will be after Rosh Hashanah.”

When Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) won his first election to the House in 2022, Jewish leaders in his Orlando, Fla., district who had been encouraged by his personal outreach were optimistic he would follow through on a range of commitments he had made vowing to uphold support for Israel.

Despite some initial concerns about his history of involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations as well as relationships with anti-Israel activists, Frost had circulated a lengthy Middle East position paper in consultation, in part, with a top pro-Israel group that largely assuaged lingering reservations among Jewish community leaders over the sincerity of his views. 

In the paper as well as a candidate questionnaire solicited by Jewish Insider during his first primary, the young progressive organizer, describing himself as both “pro-Israel” and “pro-Palestinian,” voiced opposition to conditioning aid to Israel — arguing that the security threats facing the Jewish state are “far too grave” to enact such measures. In backing a two-state solution, he clarified that any agreement should require “the basic recognition that Israel has a right to exist” as well as “an end to the antisemitic rhetoric and positions of Hamas.” And if elected, he pledged to visit Israel — which he called “one of the United States’ most important allies and strategic partners.”

Now, almost midway into his second term, Jewish and pro-Israel leaders are expressing some buyer’s remorse as Frost, 28, has embraced positions that put him at odds with his past commitments, fueling frustration among those who had believed he would be a more dependable ally on key issues concerning Israel. 

Frost, for his part, insists that the humanitarian conditions in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza have deteriorated so drastically during his tenure that he had no choice but to change his views, though that has not quelled discontent among his former allies.

“He has broken a lot of promises,” said one Jewish leader, echoing others who expressed dismay with Frost’s turn in Congress.

The most recent move to draw scrutiny from Jewish and pro-Israel leaders is a letter Frost signed urging the Trump administration to recognize a Palestinian state over growing concerns with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The letter, signed by several prominent House progressives and led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — who plans to introduce a similar resolution — said such a state “will need to fully recognize Israel” and guarantee “the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas.” But pro-Israel activists broadly see the renewed effort as a misguided concession to Hamas amid the ongoing war — as the terror group seeks to leverage international outrage over Israel’s military conduct.

Democratic Majority for Israel, whose political arm had provided input on Frost’s position paper during his primary, took issue with his decision to join the letter. While the group felt sufficiently comfortable with Frost’s Middle East policy views when he first ran for Congress, opting not to intervene on behalf of a top primary rival who had won an endorsement from its super PAC, it has become dissatisfied with his approach as he has continued to stake out more adversarial stances toward Israel during his time in the House.

“We strongly support a two-state solution that ensures Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state with recognized borders and upholds the right of Palestinians to live in freedom and security in a viable state of their own,” Brian Romick, DMFI’s president, said in a statement to JI on Tuesday. “But unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state at this time — as the terrorist group Hamas still governs parts of Gaza and continues to hold Israeli hostages — would not advance peace. It will instead prolong the war by incentivizing Hamas to reject any ceasefire deal, and reward the terrorism we saw on Oct. 7 while making future acts of terror more likely.”

In addition to the letter — which followed a similar resolution he co-sponsored in 2023 during his first term — Frost in May joined legislation to place unprecedented new conditions on aid to Israel by withholding offensive weapons over its alleged violations of international law.

Last year, he also voted against a widely approved bill to provide supplemental aid to Israel six months after Hamas’ attacks. In a statement explaining his thinking at the time, Frost wrote that he was “only able to justify aid for defense, not offense, and this legislation did not allow me to separate the two,” as the war “has claimed the lives of countless innocent Palestinian civilians and brought us no closer to the return of innocent Israeli hostages held by Hamas.”

“For me, the North Star here is having a two-state solution, and everything, all the decisions we make, have to point to that,” Frost said, arguing that he has remained consistent in upholding his core beliefs on the conflict even as his positions on specific policies have changed since he launched his initial campaign for Congress. “The thing I have in mind is the safety and security of everybody, of Israel, of Palestinians — of everybody.”

Meanwhile, Frost has yet to fulfill his campaign vow to travel to Israel, and has declined invitations to do so while in Congress, according to a person familiar with the matter.

In an interview on Wednesday, Frost acknowledged that his approach has changed since he entered the House, attributing his new positions to his revulsion at Israel’s behavior in Gaza — which he described as “completely unacceptable” and “abhorrent” in light of the civilian death toll. “In terms of specific policy points, things have changed,” Frost told JI. “Things have changed a lot — and unfortunately, not for the better.”

“For me, the North Star here is having a two-state solution, and everything, all the decisions we make, have to point to that,” he added, arguing that he has remained consistent in upholding his core beliefs on the conflict even as his positions on specific policies have changed since he launched his initial campaign for Congress. “The thing I have in mind is the safety and security of everybody, of Israel, of Palestinians — of everybody.”

Even as he condemned Hamas and said the terror group should have no role in rebuilding postwar Gaza, Frost said the conflict has evolved into what he regards as a “war on innocent people,” resulting in “massive loss of innocent life” that has fueled his decision to speak up against the Israeli government and its ongoing military campaign.

In the Middle East position paper he wrote in his first primary, Frost had rejected placing additional conditions on aid to Israel because, he wrote at the time, it would “undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself against the very serious threats it faces.” But he explained on Wednesday he had also felt such measures were “already written into the law” and “we didn’t really need to go further” in enforcing it at the time. 

Now, however, “I do believe that the law is being violated,” he told JI, clarifying his recent support for legislation that seeks to withhold transfers of offensive weapons to Israel. “Because of that, we have to look at the way that we are both complicit but also encouraging the current behavior of the Netanyahu government,” he said.

Unlike a handful of his far-left House colleagues who have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza, Frost hesitated to use the term himself, calling it a “difficult” word because of its historical connection to the Holocaust. Still, he said he would not seek to discourage others from such charges. “I’m not going to sit here and defend what is going on right now in any way, shape or form,” he said. “I understand why people use that word. But when we see what’s going on, it’s hard to find the words for it.”

“There’s a lot of things to hold, but the main thing is, yes, there are many things that have changed,” he reiterated. “But for me, what has not changed is the main goal, which is making sure that everyone’s safe and everyone’s secure.”

Frost is hardly alone among Democratic lawmakers who in recent months have become more critical of Israel’s behavior, with even some of the staunchest supporters of the Jewish state struggling to defend the Israeli government as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has continued to worsen nearly two years into the war.

“It’s a radical shift,” one community activist told JI, voicing frustration with Frost’s positions, even as he described their ongoing conversations as “very open and honest.” 

His vacillating stances also illustrate some of the cross-pressures facing progressive Democrats who are not completely aligned with the party’s far left on its hostility toward Israel. Pro-Israel Democrats have recently voiced their concerns that anti-Israel policies could become a litmus test for the left in the midterms, particularly amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s moves to occupy the enclave.

But Jewish community leaders in Frost’s district, who spoke on condition of anonymity to address what they characterize as an increasingly delicate relationship with the congressman, explained they are particularly disappointed with his evolution on Middle East policy, given their initial hopes that he would be among a dwindling number of progressive allies committed to defending Israel in the House.

“It’s a radical shift,” one community activist told JI, voicing frustration with Frost’s positions, even as he described their ongoing conversations as “very open and honest.” 

The activist noted that Frost, who had been a prominent gun control advocate before he was elected to Congress, has “a good heart and doesn’t want to see people dying.” But “as a result,” he said, Frost has “a lot of blind spots” in his assessment of the conflict. The activist argued that Frost’s critique of Israel’s conduct in Gaza has ignored Hamas’ role in perpetuating the crisis as it refuses to surrender.

“At the end of the day, he very much comes from the ‘oppressor-oppressed’ worldview and sees Israel as the oppressor,” the activist said.

Frost, for his part, said his statements have been misconstrued by a wide range of critics across the spectrum, including pro-Palestinian activists who allege that he made separate commitments during his first primary bid that he has failed to uphold in Congress.

He stressed that he does not “do tit-for-tat stuff” while addressing the war. “Whenever I post about the hostages, I’ll have people sending me messages. ‘What about this?’ No,” he said. “Whenever I post about Palestinians, I’ll have people saying, ‘What about this?’ No, I will post about it all. I will talk about it all. I will say how I feel about everything.”

“I’m very firm in that, just coming from a place of, since I was 15 years old, being involved in the fight to end gun violence, and have grown up through a movement of death,” he told JI. “I just don’t think that’s the way to live as a human, quite frankly.”

“We’ve been disappointed that he has not met the commitments he gave to us,” one DMFI source told JI. “At the same time, we’re grateful that he has come to realize he made a mistake in at least one case, but members of Congress should think through their votes fully and discuss them with knowledgeable people before casting them.”

Even as Jewish and pro-Israel leaders say their relationships with Frost have worsened in recent months, frustration over his approach to Israel has been mounting since his first term, when he called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza just days after Hamas’ terror attacks. As a freshman, he also voted against a resolution condemning rising antisemitic activity on college campuses, but he later said that vote had been a mistake after meeting with Jewish students in his district.

While Frost had shown contrition for his vote on the resolution in November 2023, DMFI still expressed dissatisfaction with his initial decision at the time — alleging he had not performed proper due diligence beforehand. “We’ve been disappointed that he has not met the commitments he gave to us,” one DMFI source told JI not long after the vote.

“At the same time, we’re grateful that he has come to realize he made a mistake in at least one case, but members of Congress should think through their votes fully and discuss them with knowledgeable people before casting them,” the source stated.

A spokesperson for Frost told JI at the time that the congressman “is trying to hold multiple truths all at once” as he receives input from constituents pushing opposing interests.

“I’m very comfortable with the decisions I’ve made,” Frost said of his approach to Israel. “As I walk the streets of my district, as I speak with the people in my district, this is where I find most people are at. They’re not really at the extremes that I’ve heard from.”

Speaking with JI on Wednesday, Frost said he has appreciated his ongoing discussions with pro-Israel leaders in his district — even if they have not been aligned on major policy questions in recent months. “Hearing their perspective is really important,” he confirmed. “What I always tell people is I might not always come to the conclusion that you agree with,” he said, “but I hope you’ll always feel I’ve engaged in good faith.”

He suggested that Jewish community activists who have been irked by his approach to the Middle East have not fully reckoned with his belief that Israel’s military actions have damaged its reputation in the United States. “It’s palpable across the country, and I think a lot of this has to do with the decisions that are being made by Netanyahu,” he argued.

“I’m very comfortable with the decisions I’ve made,” Frost said of his approach to Israel. “As I walk the streets of my district, as I speak with the people in my district, this is where I find most people are at. They’re not really at the extremes that I’ve heard from.”

When he assumed office in 2023, Frost had sought guidance from pro-Israel Democrats including Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who enthusiastically backed his campaign, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), one person familiar with the matter told JI. But the congressman has since drifted away from the two lawmakers on Israel while staking out positions that have put him more in line with the far left.

More recently, Frost has built closer relationships with such leading Israel critics as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the source told JI, even if he has resisted identifying as an official member of the so-called Squad of progressive House Democrats. 

Owing in part to his network in Congress, Jewish community leaders are doubtful Frost will change his views on Israel. “It may be the best that we can hope is that he doesn’t become an actual member of the Squad,” said one activist, while noting that Frost is “totally safe” in his deeply blue district as he seeks a third term next year. 

Still, the activist said, “his refusal to actually go and see” Israel “first-hand is a problem,” particularly in light of his primary vow to visit the Jewish state as a congressman.

Frost, who acknowledged the commitment that he had made, said he hopes to see the region “at some point,” but added that it has “been difficult to figure out the timing.”

After the interview, Frost asked his spokesperson to clarify that he would “like to travel to the region at a point where he’d be able to visit both Israel and the Gaza Strip,” indicating a potential visit is unlikely to occur in the foreseeable future.

As nearly a dozen countries announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the last week, the European Union debated exerting an additional form of leverage on Israel, in the form of suspending its participation in Brussels’ flagship scientific research and innovation program.

Earlier last week, the European Commission proposed a partial suspension of Israel’s participation in Horizon Europe — a 95.5 billion Euro ($109.2 billion) program that covers all areas of science and technology and has contributed significantly to Israeli academia and its tech sector — in response to what Brussels called a “severe” humanitarian situation in Gaza, which it views as having been insufficiently addressed by the daily humanitarian pauses this week. 

The commission proposed to no longer allow Israeli entities to work with the European Innovation Council’s accelerator, which an Israeli diplomatic source estimated would lead to damages of about 10 million Euros ($11.4 mn.) to Israeli startups in the program, but none to research projects. 

The motion did not receive the qualified majority in the European Union Council, and therefore Israel remains a full partner in Horizon Europe. Germany and Italy reportedly blocked the suspension, and Tuesday’s meeting on the matter ended without a decision. The European Council presidency said after the meeting that it plans to continue talks about the matter. The Israeli diplomatic source said some countries wanted to continue monitoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza before reaching a decision.

The scare from Brussels came at a difficult time for Israeli academia, which has been facing overt and more subtle forms of boycotts, Emmanuel Nahshon, the coordinator for combatting academic boycotts on behalf of the Israeli Association of Universities, told Jewish Insider in an interview on Wednesday. 

Nahshon, a former ambassador and deputy director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, who resigned last year in protest against the government, spoke about the challenges Israeli academia is facing in the shadow of the war in Gaza.

The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Jewish Insider: What did you think about the outcome of the European Council’s discussion on partially suspending Israel from Horizon Europe?

Emmanuel Nahshon: They decided not to decide at the EU level, because we still have Germany and Italy blocking a possible majority against Israel, but even the Germans are telling us that this cannot go on. It’s an expression of the increasing isolation of Israel, given the unending war in Gaza, which has become more and more difficult to explain … It creates a bleak picture.

I’m very happy that sanctions on Israel in Horizon Europe did not work out this time, but unfortunately, it will happen next time.

JI: Can you explain why Horizon Europe is so important?

EN: It’s a fund budgeted by the EU and its member states, a multi-year fund for six to seven years, and its purpose is to fund joint research and development projects. Israel is one of the few non-EU countries that have been invited to participate … starting in the mid-1990s. It has been extremely successful.

European funds are extremely important because they create partnerships and networks and this is part of what has made Israel the innovation hub that it is.

Israel has one of the highest rates of return on investment and are welcome partners in top-level projects of the EU. By cutting us out of those projects, it will really punish Israeli innovation and the Israeli economy. 

It’s not only about academic cooperation — it goes way beyond that. These are projects that are translated into concrete innovations for the welfare of humanity. 

JI: What kinds of challenges is Israeli academia facing from anti-Israel elements abroad?

EN: Immediately after Oct. 7 [2023 Hamas attacks on Israel], there were mostly student protests, encampments, violent protests – those are almost non-existent now. It has shifted in the last year to something else, institutional boycotts.

Universities have decided to cut ties with Israel, as have professional associations – medical, psychology, historians, mathematicians. It’s much more dangerous. We now have countries in which the majority of universities have no contact with Israel. In Belgium and the Netherlands over 80% of universities have severed all contacts with Israeli universities, as have most in Spain and Italy. It’s beginning in Switzerland, in Geneva and Lausanne. 

It’s a slippery slope. The more it happens, the more it is bound to happen. Universities copy one another.

On top of that, we have the silent, covert boycott. It’s like Voldemort [from Harry Potter], no one is saying its name, but it is there and we feel it all the bloody time. Israeli lecturers are not invited to international events anymore; articles are rejected; Israelis are not invited to take part in science and research consortia, etc.

If it continues for a year or two, we may face dire consequences.

JI: What would those consequences be?

EN: It’s the slow strangling of the Israeli academic world. We cannot function without contact with the outside world. Israel is too small a country to be able to have its own, internal academic world. We need contact with …the Ivy League and Western European universities.

On top of it, there is a phenomenon that began before the war, because of the so-called judicial reform, and that is Israeli academics leaving Israel. This is a brain drain that is noticeable and catastrophic. We are talking about tens of thousands of Israeli academics choosing to make their lives elsewhere. It began in early 2023 and the war made it worse.

JI: The Israeli Association of Universities (known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym VERA) hired you about a year ago to combat the academic boycott. What have you been doing?

EN: We have been working very hard on two levels. The first was to create internal coordination between different Israeli universities so we can speak the same language in the fight together. We did one thing that has been extremely useful, which is to create a common database. Now, on a regular basis, we have information coming from all the Israeli universities regarding boycott attempts and events. This is super useful, because now we know how many took place.

JI: How many? 

EN: By last count there were over 800 boycott events since last summer. Some are smaller, some are bigger.

[Nahshon provided JI with a presentation given by VERA to the Knesset Education Committee in May, which said that this year they received an average of 50 boycott reports per month — double that of the previous year. Broken down by country, the number of reports about the U.S., Canada and Holland more than doubled, Spain went up 125% and England increased by 55%. A third of the complaints from North America were about the suspension of individual collaborations between Israeli scientists and their colleagues, while 18% were about difficulty in publishing, and 18% were about not being invited to lecture or participate in conferences. In Europe, nearly a third of the complaints were about institutions ending their cooperation with Israelis.]

Boycotts are complex. It’s a bit like sexual harassment. People do not always want to say they’ve been the victim, so we have to encourage people. Now, more and more [academics] are reporting and we have a fuller picture of the situation.

JI: What do you do after receiving the reports?

EN: We do work all over the world on the legal, political and public relations fronts. We emply the services of a law firm in Brussels that is helping us tremendously, because a lot of institutional boycott cases violate European laws.

For example, if universities want to kick Israeli researchers out of Horizon Europe [grantee] projects, that is against European law … We have had many successes in which they immediately stop the boycott.

Politically, we want to encourage our friends to pass legislation against boycotts, like the ones that exist in the U.S. 

There are so many lies directed at Israeli universities that have nothing to do with reality, such as calling them apartheid or saying that Israeli academia teaches the military how to occupy or how to kill.

This effort is very new, very young. We need more budgets to function; it’s challenging. I have addressed the government without much success. We are looking for partners and funds, and we do the best we can with the limited means we have.

JI: The Weizmann Institute, one of Israel’s leading scientific institutions, was hit by an Iranian missile last month, which destroyed 45 labs. Are they going to have a hard time recovering because of international boycotts?

EN: I don’t think it will be a problem [raising funds for the recovery] because so many have expressed solidarity with the Weizmann Institute. They have so many friends around the world.

The problem is that the government is not fulfilling its mission. It should be the role of the Israeli government to commit to financing it, instead of fundraising … Israeli academia is not a priority for this government because it is identified with the more liberal wing of Israeli politics. 

Weizmann will be fine, but the problem is of a more general nature. I quote the head of VERA Daniel Chamovitz, who said that “you can see that the Iranians put higher education and Israeli research at the center of their launch map” — apparently the Iranians understand better than the Israeli government that academia is a top priority. They aimed at Weizmann and the Soroka Hospital [in Beersheba, a teaching hospital] for exactly that reason.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is circulating a letter to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio among House lawmakers calling for the United States to recognize a Palestinian state.

Khanna, a prominent progressive voice in the House with aspirations for higher office, has become increasingly vocal in recent weeks about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and in his criticism of the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.

“We are writing to request that the United States officially recognize a Palestinian state, as this tragic moment has highlighted for the world the long overdue need to recognize Palestinian self-determination,” a draft version of the letter obtained by Jewish Insider reads. “Just as the lives of Palestinians must be immediately protected, so too must their rights as a people and nation urgently be acknowledged and upheld.”

The letter had nine co-signatories, in addition to Khanna, as of Thursday evening.

The signatories said they welcome French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state, and urged other governments to do the same. The U.K. and Canada said this week that they intend to do so as well, given certain conditions.

“It has long been acknowledged by much of the international community and previous U.S. administrations of both major political parties that a Palestinian state recognized as a full and equal member of the community of nations is necessary to fulfill the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people and ensure the state of Israel’s survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people,” the letter continues.

U.S. policy has long opposed the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state outside of a negotiated two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.

“A viable Palestinian state will need to fully recognize Israel and adopt a framework to guarantee Israel’s security, including the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas in order to be broadly embraced by the community of nations,” the letter continues. “We will need to work closely with the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Authority, our Arab allies, and Israel to make this feasible.”

The letter argues that “recognizing Palestinian statehood and obligating Palestinian leaders to abide by the international law binding on states and their governments will make that far more achievable and sustainable than decades of statelessness and repression have.”

The letter has been co-signed by Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Al Green (D-TX), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) — all prominent progressive lawmakers in the House — since opening on Tuesday evening.

In a statement to JI, Khanna said, “This is the moment for the United States to officially recognize a Palestinian state. All 22 states in the Arab League this week called for a non Hamas Palestinian state that recognizes Israel.”

He said that his office had begun outreach on the issue this week, but did not plan to send the letter until the United Nations General Assembly in September, when France and others said they plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state. He described the response from his fellow lawmakers as “overwhelming.”

“It’s disappointing someone would leak the letter thinking it would sabotage the effort,” Khanna continued. “But you cannot sabotage an idea whose time has come.”

Khanna said in a memo to colleagues about the letter, “Recognition of Palestinian statehood — alongside continued efforts to secure Israel’s safety and guarantee its future as a democratic homeland for the Jewish people — is essential to achieving peace.”

He continued, “As the devastating toll of the war in Gaza continues to mount, this tragic moment has underscored the urgent need to acknowledge Palestinian self-determination and take meaningful steps toward a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Previously, a resolution supporting Palestinian statehood, introduced in the House by Green in December 2023, received five co-sponsors — Watson Coleman, Frost, Doggett, Escobar and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN).

Eleven countries declared their intention to recognize a Palestinian state in conjunction with Tuesday’s France and Saudi Arabia-sponsored conference at the United Nations on a two-state solution.

The Arab League, along with the entire European Union and seventeen additional countries, signed the “New York Declaration,” which details a plan starting with the immediate end of the war and concludes with an independent, demilitarized Palestinian state living peacefully next to Israel. The declaration calls for UNRWA — the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, some of whose employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks — to take part in the transition, and for the Palestinian Authority to implement reforms and hold democratic elections within a year.

Notably, by signing the declaration, for the first time, the entire Arab League — including Hamas benefactor Qatar — condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and called for the terrorist group to disarm, give up its rule over Gaza and release the hostages in order to end the war. 

A separate statement, the “New York Call,” was signed by 15 Western countries, six of whom already recognized a Palestinian state, and another nine who “expressed or express willingness … to recognize the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-state solution, and invite all countries that have not done so to join this call.”

Most U.N. member states — 145 out of 193 of them — recognize a Palestinian state, the vast majority of them having followed the Soviet Union in doing so in 1988. Nine of them took the step after the Oct. 7 attacks and the start of the war in Gaza. Eleven more announced the intention to do so this week.

The countries that joined the “New York Call” were Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal and San Marino.

The declaration came hours after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country will recognize a Palestinian state by September if Israel does not reach a ceasefire with Hamas — though Hamas is the one who rejected such a deal last week — and commit to not annexing the West Bank and agree to reviving the idea of a two-state solution. 

Last week, ahead of the conference, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would also recognize a Palestinian state in September at the U.N. General Assembly.

The response from Jerusalem was overwhelmingly negative, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that recognizing a Palestinian state “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims … Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the statements “a reward for Hamas … at a time when Israel is still fighting in Gaza and there are still Israeli hostages there,” and “a rash and ill-considered decision, primarily driven by internal political considerations and pressures.” 

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote that “if Europe genuinely wants a Palestinian state to come into being one day, it needs to … demand that the Palestinians change … Declaring support for those who handed out candy in the streets of [the West Bank cities of] Nablus and Hebron on the morning of Oct. 7 does not advance a two-state solution. If anything, it pushes it further away.” 

The State Department also called the conference an “unproductive and ill-timed publicity stunt” that will “embolden Hamas and … undermine real-world efforts to achieve peace … It keeps hostages trapped in tunnels.”

Former hostage of Hamas Emily Damari, a British citizen, posted on X that Starmer’s recognition of Palestinian statehood “risks rewarding terror [and] sends a dangerous message: that violence earns legitimacy … Recognition under these conditions emboldens extremists and undermines any hope for genuine peace. Shame on you.” 

The Hostages Families Forum said that “recognizing a Palestinian state while 50 hostages remain trapped in Hamas tunnels amounts to rewarding terrorism … The abduction of men, women, and children, who are being held against their will in tunnels while subjected to starvation and physical and psychological abuse, cannot and should not serve as the foundation for establishing a state … The essential first step toward ensuring a better future for all peoples must be the release of all hostages through a single, comprehensive deal.”

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Jewish Insider that the move to recognize a Palestinian state emboldens Hamas, in that it convinces them that “they’re winning the long game. Hamas now says ‘The West is with us.’ This is exactly what they want, to pressure and corner Israel to succeed, and Hamas will say, ‘We’re not going to release the hostages.’ They’re just biding their time.” 

Emmanuel Nahshon, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s former deputy director for public diplomacy and a former ambassador to Brussels who resigned in protest against the government last year, told JI that 11 countries saying they’ll recognize a Palestinian state in one week creates “a slippery slope” towards diplomatic isolation for Israel.

“This enables countries that were friendly with Israel to criticize us publicly, and strengthens extremely radical elements in those countries,” Nahshon said. “It’s a kind of perfect storm with the purpose of delegitimizing Israel.”

Among those countries, he said, are Canada, the Netherlands and France.

“These are countries that we always considered to be like-minded, in terms of a point of reference for the State of Israel. We don’t want to compare ourselves to African dictatorships; rather, we see ourselves like Western European democracies. Now, Western European democracies are growing more and more distant from Israel,” Nahshon said.

Diker said that 11 countries recognizing a Palestinian state is “very dangerous in the perception war.” 

“This is the greatest success for what was originally a Soviet plan, that the Palestinians under [PLO leader Yasser] Arafat and [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas and then Hamas inherited. The strategy is to divide … Western states from Israel, isolate Israel, and cause it to bleed to death,” he said.

Diker noted that France and the U.K.’s position is especially consequential because they are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council aligned with the U.S. If London and Paris follow through and recognize a Palestinian state, the U.S. will be the only permanent member of the UNSC not to do so.

Diker said that “what Starmer and Macron … [did] is an ill-advised move … The PA have not satisfied any of the requirements for statehood. They don’t have a functioning government; they don’t have control over the population or the ability to engage in international relations — they have 100 political warriors they call diplomats and all they do is subvert Israel.”

Nahshon added that the countries “are not stupid; they know that even if they recognize a Palestinian state it doesn’t mean there is a Palestinian state. You can trust the international community that they understand fully well that it won’t have practical, immediate implications, certainly not when Palestinians are unable to run their own state and possibly unwilling to have their own state, because if you ask most Palestinians, they would rather destroy Israel.” 

Rather, he said the move to recognize a Palestinian state “sends a message to Israel of criticism and disapproval,” Nahshon said. “It’s addressed first and foremost at Israel … It’s a vote of no confidence addressed at the Israeli government saying, ‘We are very unhappy with the way you run the war in Gaza and with the free hand given to extreme settlers.’ The message is addressed to Netanyahu and his government.”

Diker pointed out that Starmer is “a well-heeled international lawyer, a human rights lawyer,” and that he and Macron “see themselves as being the human rights conscience of the Europeans” but put pressure mainly on Israel, “ironically, while Hamas kills and tortures its own people while they’re seeking humanitarian aid.”

“Israel has had a very serious problem in leading the narrative,” Diker said. “This is narrative warfare … [that] brought us to where we are … Israel has got to pull itself together and prosecute a soft power war.”

Diker called for there to be widely-released images of “Israeli soldiers handing food and aid to the Gazans. That is political, cognitive warfare. We should be seen doing that.” 

Asked if that might be a domestic political risk to the current Israeli government, Diker said: “If we’re totally isolated internationally, it’s a fundamental threat to our existence. We can’t operate in a vacuum.” 

The Trump administration, congressional Republicans and American Jewish groups are blasting French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on Thursday that France will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this year.

Macron’s decision would make France the most prominent European Union country, and one of the U.S.’ closest allies, to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, and could create momentum for other countries to make similar decisions. U.S. policy has long held, on a bipartisan basis, that a Palestinian state can only be recognized in the context of a mutually agreed diplomatic solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The United States strongly rejects [Macron’s] plan to recognize a Palestinian state at the [UN] General Assembly,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “This reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. It is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th.”

Top Republican lawmakers largely argued that the decision constituted a reward for Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and its intransigence in recent hostage talks, the most recent round of which collapsed just hours before Macron’s announcement.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the announcement is a “shameful endorsement of terrorists.”

“The best way for this conflict to end is to back Israel in its righteous mission of rescuing the hostages and defeating Hamas,” he continued.

Graham (R-SC) called the decision “curious and disturbing on multiple levels” and said he is “certain this will embolden Hamas and make a ceasefire more difficult.”

“In addition, here are some questions that come to mind. Who’s in charge? What are the borders and boundaries? What is the governance structure? Does Hamas stay involved politically or militarily? Is the West Bank and Gaza part of a single state? Are they allowed to have an army? Does the education system change?” Graham continued. “Other than these few missing details, it seems like a foolproof plan!”

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, “Choosing to reward terrorism, hostage taking and genocide against Jews is the wrong choice.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) said that “France has a long history of surrendering.” 

“They surrendered their country to Muslim terrorists long ago,” Fine continued. “Now they want to surrender the Holy Land to Hamas. America and Israel don’t surrender, especially to countries like ‘Palestine’ that don’t exist.”

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) said Macron’s decision “is a slap to the face to the Jewish community & the state of Israel.”

“President Macron must rethink this decision and side with freedom & democracy, not a terrorist regime,” Gimenez continued.

Macron’s push for Palestinian statehood had previously faced criticism and scorn from congressional Republicans ahead of a conference the country is set to co-chair on a two-state solution, which was rescheduled from June to early next week.

“It certainly sounds like they take us for granted and think that they can act without consequence. France has a long history of doing this in foreign policy. They’re consistently a problem and have been forever, but I’d say it’s very unhelpful of them at this present moment,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Jewish Insider in June. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he had tried to dissuade French officials from going ahead with the move.

Several senators downplayed France’s influence in Europe and said that the U.S. should ignore the effort.

AIPAC also condemned the French announcement.

“President Macron is acting as Hamas’ handmaiden with the announcement that France will unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state,” the organization said in a statement. “By taking this action, President Macron is rewarding Hamas’ barbaric attack on the Jewish state on October 7. Moreover, this unilateral recognition makes peace and reconciliation even more elusive.”

“We urge the Administration and Congress to express their opposition to the French government concerning this irresponsible action,” the statement continued.

The American Jewish Committee said the announcement “comes at an extremely troubling time, with Hamas continuing to reject proposals for a ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages” and noted that France is not asking for any preconditions, including those that Macron himself had previously laid out.

“By offering recognition without conditions — and without demanding the release of hostages or the disarmament of Hamas — France removes any incentive for compromise. It sends a dangerous message: you can get what you want through violence, without giving anything in return,” AJC said. “It only emboldens terror groups like Hamas by legitimizing violence and hostage-taking as viable tactics to achieve political goals. It undermines efforts by leaders across Europe and the Middle East, who are still working toward a negotiated two-state solution. France has undercut its own credibility as an honest broker — a role it has long claimed in the Middle East,” the group continued.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said, “Calling for a Palestinian state, without conditions being met by the PA, does nothing to end this war. Hamas is still holding hostages and Israel’s borders are not secure.”

“If France wants to do something productive they should help eliminate Hamas,” she continued.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Friday that his upcoming United Nations conference with Saudi Arabia promoting international recognition of a Palestinian state has been postponed following Israel’s attack on Iran.

Speaking to reporters from Paris, Macron said that the conference would need to be rescheduled for logistical purposes, citing the inability of Palestinian Authority officials to travel to U.N. headquarters in New York next week to participate. 

The Trump administration was opposed to the conference, titled “The High Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution,” and urged U.N. member states against participating. Pro-Israel Republicans on Capitol Hill also criticized the gathering, which was scheduled to take place June 17-20, as a distraction from U.S. efforts to secure peace in the region.

Despite his campaign for Palestinian statehood recognition, Macron was quick to defend Israel’s strikes on Iran, releasing a statement early Friday criticizing Tehran for its nuclear program and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense. At his press conference later Friday, he argued that Iran was heavily responsible for the current unrest in the Middle East by building its nuclear program against the requests of the West and other actors in the region. 

Still, he urged restraint in both the press conference and his statement. 

“France has repeatedly condemned Iran’s ongoing nuclear program and has taken all appropriate diplomatic measures in response. In this context, France reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure its security. To avoid jeopardizing the stability of the entire region, I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to de-escalate,” Macron’s statement read. 

“Peace and security for all in the region must remain our guiding principle,” the statement continued.

A U.N. spokesperson did not immediately respond to Jewish Insider’s request for comment on the conference. 

Israel and France have been on a diplomatic collision course in recent weeks, with French President Emmanuel Macron set to lay out steps toward the recognition of a Palestinian state at a French- and Saudi- sponsored conference promoting a two-state solution being held at the United Nations headquarters in New York next week.

The move comes as the French government released a report calling on Paris to recognize a Palestinian state and recalibrate its policies towards Israel to “appease” France’s growing Muslim population.

Last month, Macron called Israeli policies on Gaza “shameful” and raised the possibility of downgrading European Union cooperation with Israel; in response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Macron of spreading blood libels and standing with Hamas. Days later, France threatened sanctions on Israel if it does not allow unrestricted humanitarian aid to be distributed by U.N. agencies in Gaza. After Macron once again threatened to “toughen” his stance against Israel last week, the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused him of being on a “crusade against the Jewish state” — referring to a period in which French knights massacred European Jews. 

France has been preparing to co-chair “The High Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” with Saudi Arabia at the U.N. on June 17-20. Macron said last week that the conference, which was first announced in December, is meant “to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state.” The French Foreign Ministry told The Guardian that Paris is trying to convince other countries to join it. The gathering’s other agenda items include reforming the Palestinian Authority and disarming Hamas. 

French diplomats met with officials in Jerusalem to discuss the matter, and briefed reporters that the main goals of the conference are disarming Hamas, freeing the hostages, reforming the Palestinian Authority and planning for the “day after” the war in Gaza, including a two-state solution. 

A French diplomatic source said on Sunday that France is “determined to recognize the state of Palestine to create the conditions for the existence of this state … Our goal for this conference indeed goes beyond the question of recognition. It is indeed about recreating an international consensus around the two-state solution, which allows for a lasting resolution to the conflict.”

Amid the sparring between Israel and France and the preparation to recognize a Palestinian state, the French Interior Ministry released a report titled “Muslim Brothers and Political Islam in France,” calling the Muslim Brotherhood an “imminent threat” to French national security. The Islamist group is funded by foreign powers, has over 100,000 members in France and runs or influences countless mosques, schools and other organizations. The report also describes the Muslim Brotherhood’s dissemination of antisemitic texts and propaganda.

Among the report’s recommendations is “the recognition by France of a Palestinian State alongside Israel” to “appease the frustrations” of French Muslims who perceive Paris as “supporting Jewish Israelis against Muslim Palestinians.”

Experts drew a connection between Macron’s pressure on Israel, Muslim Brotherhood influence and antisemitism in France.

French conservative intellectual Michel Gurfinkiel told Jewish Insider that “the main point of the report is not what it says about the Muslim Brotherhood. The real point is the conclusion that the French government should make efforts to bring French Muslims into the French fold, and that means … to recognize a state of Palestine.”

“There is a kind of interplay here,” he added. “The interior minister wanted to publish the report in order to give legitimacy to his own policy against Islamism in France. But it was published with the approval of President Macron … and obviously, the real goal of the president was to tell everybody, ‘I must recognize a State of Palestine because it is the only way for us to fight the Muslim Brotherhood.'”

Gurfinkiel noted that while Macron has to vacate the presidency in two years, he can run for a third nonconsecutive term in 2032, when he will be 55. “To return, his calculation is that he needs to secure the Muslim vote in France, which is going to grow in the coming years. He wants French Muslims to see him as the champion of their cause, and to be a champion of the Muslim cause means you support Palestine. Palestine is a code word for Muslim power in France, just like the right is extremely pro-Israel as a metaphor” against growing Islamism.

Emmanuel Navon, a professor of international relations at Tel Aviv University, also pointed out that the report about the Muslim Brotherhood says “clearly the Muslims are out of control and maybe one way of calming them down is to recognize a Palestinian state.” 

“The report says there is a plan to conquer and Islamicize France. That’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s in the report,” Navon added.

Israel’s former ambassador to France, Daniel Shek, told JI, “I can’t rule out that there are domestic political motivations, but I can say that as someone who knows [Macron] and spoke with him about the topic [of a two-state solution] years ago, it’s not his central motivation. He wants to end the war out of a concern for Israel.”

“You see what happened on the Champs-Élysées on Saturday night,” Navon added, referring to soccer riots last month, during which there were several incidents of antisemitic vandalism. “Macron used an Arabic expression for ‘my brothers’ on Twitter, it is very telling. It’s clear he wants to appease the Muslims. Spoiler: It’s not going to work.” 

The report’s repeated references to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict show that it is an important part of the French public debate because it is a synecdoche for political positions on immigration and Islam in France, Navon and Gurfinkiel said.

Israel’s former ambassador to France, Daniel Shek, however, told JI, “I can’t rule out that there are domestic political motivations, but I can say that as someone who knows [Macron] and spoke with him about the topic [of a two-state solution] years ago, it’s not his central motivation. He wants to end the war out of a concern for Israel.”

Boaz Bismuth, a Knesset member from Netanyahu’s Likud Party and a former diplomat and foreign correspondent based in France, told JI that French Foreign Ministry representatives discussed  Macron’s plan to sponsor a conference supporting Palestinian statehood months ago, long before the French Interior Ministry’s report came out.

“I would even say this is the usual position of the French,” he said. 

Over a week ago, vandals targeted Paris’ Shoah Memorial, two synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in the Marais, the historic Jewish neighborhood, and a third synagogue in another part of the city. A French rabbi reported that he was assaulted twice in the past week.

Gurfinkiel said that Macron’s remarks “obviously” encourage antisemitism.

“What people don’t understand,” he said, “is once you start saying that the Jews in Israel are bad, the consequence is that Jews everywhere are [perceived as] bad. It reactivates countless negative views and images of the Jews that are embedded in Western culture. You can’t escape it.” 

Navon cited a recent French decision to posthumously give Alfred Dreyfus a promotion and said: “Remember that book People Love Dead Jews? It’s exactly that. They love dead Jews. They’re trying to fight antisemitism 100 years ago … but when it comes to the true antisemitism, which is the obsession with Israel and attacking Jews under the name ‘Zionist,’ they basically are taking part in demonizing Israel which encourages it.”

“He says [Israel is] committing war crimes and killing women and babies,” Navon added. “That feeds the antisemitism of the far-left and the Muslims. This hypocrisy is unacceptable.” 

Bismuth also said that he “wouldn’t say [Macron] is an enemy of Israel or hates the Jews. I think he doesn’t understand the significance of what he’s doing.”

“I give him the benefit of the doubt that it’s not intentional … I call on him to show responsibility and understand the consequences and the meaning of the things he said,” the Likud lawmaker stated.

Shek took issue with what he said was “the Israeli government’s position that any initiative to end the war is an existential threat and anyone doing it is an antisemite.”

Bismuth voiced disappointment in Macron, who expressed support for Israel after Oct. 7. “I was in a meeting between him and Netanyahu [in October 2023]. I heard him call to establish an international coalition with Israel against Hamas. And he went from there to calling for an arms embargo on Israel [in 2024] … He did a 180-degree flip-flop.” 

“What France, the U.K. and the U.S. need to remember is that we don’t only share the same values, but also the same enemies,” he added.

Shek also noted that “Macron was a real friend of Israel and defended Israel’s right to defend itself for months.” 

“Then we turned him into an antisemitic enemy and a supporter of Hamas,” he added, referring to the way Israelis spoke about the French president. “And then, we’re surprised that Israel is isolated.” 

According to Shek, Macron’s critical turn happened because “time has gone by and nothing positive is happening. He, like many other leaders in the world, think this war has been continuing for too long and the time has come to stop it. He’s not alone; he’s just more vocal. At least he’s trying to do something.” 

Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, said that France leading the U.N. two-state solution conference “speaks to [its] eroding global position currently,” Berman said. “For France, the Middle East in general and Israel-Palestine in particular is a very attractive portfolio to play in and take an outsize role.”

Navon cited two advisors to Macron as major engines behind the U.N. conference. Ofer Bronchtein, a French-Israeli who was involved in the Oslo Accords, is Macron’s advisor on the Middle East and is expected to represent him at the U.N. next week. The other is Jacques Attali, an Algiers-born Jewish social theorist who advised former French presidents Francois Mitterand, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande before Macron. Attali began criticizing the war in Gaza as early as November 2023 and recently equated Hamas with Israel’s leadership in a post calling for Europe to “exert pressure” so that both are removed. 

Navon also blamed Qatar’s influence on France, noting that Doha has made major investments in France at a time when the country has a large budget deficit.

Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, said that France leading the U.N. two-state solution conference “speaks to [its] eroding global position currently,” Berman said. “For France, the Middle East in general and Israel-Palestine in particular is a very attractive portfolio to play in and take an outsize role.”

Berman expressed concern about the practical impact of France’s moves, saying that “as more and more countries, including upper-tier countries like France, begin to preemptively recognize Palestine as a state, it becomes harder and harder to assume that there isn’t a state, even though the fundamental conditions [for statehood] don’t apply.”

“It’s one thing for Sweden to say it; it’s another when France does,” he added. “There is a question in my mind: At what point does this boulder rolling downhill begin to pick up steam, and what does that mean?”

Shek said that not much will change if France recognizes a Palestinian state, noting that 147 countries, over three-quarters of U.N. member states, have already done so.

“It only pressures Israel, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s OK. If pressure ends the war, brings back the hostages and integrates Israel into the region, then it’s a very pro-Israel act,” he said.

The former ambassador argued that the establishment of a Palestinian state is in Israel’s interest, in that it would “turn the Palestinian Authority into a responsible party.”

Navon agreed that recognition of a Palestinian state will not change much on the ground, but he still called on Israel to scale back relations with France should they take such a step.

“We have to try to circle the wagons against countries trying to appease our common enemy. They are making a moral and practical mistake. The U.S. should make that point very clear,” said Emmanuel Navon, a professor of international relations at Tel Aviv University.

“Make sure they don’t participate in any future diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East. Downgrade security and defense relations, on which they depend. There should be consequences,” he said. “Let’s be obnoxious too. France has problems with former colonies … New Caledonia is supposed to have a referendum [about independence from France] and [the French] keep pushing it off,” Navon said, referring to the Pacific island nation. “Why don’t we bring up a resolution at the U.N.?”

As to what the American response should be to France’s latest moves against Israel, Navon said that the U.S. should not participate in the conference at the U.N. next week and “should be very clear in their statements that this is a global war against terror and that we don’t break ranks.” 

“We have to try to circle the wagons against countries trying to appease our common enemy. They are making a moral and practical mistake. The U.S. should make that point very clear,” he stated.

Berman said that “for the Trump administration, this is a really good opportunity to say ‘put your money where your mouth is’ and help reconstruct Gaza. There is a really good play to be made here. The French, Spanish, Dutch and others are very eager to moralize and grandstand, but very reticent to put their money where their mouth is and contribute.” 

Berman suggested that the Trump administration can say “we disagree with their decision, but in light of it, we hope Paris will agree to [help with] reconstruction and expect greater contributions to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” the U.S. and Israel-backed group distributing food in Gaza.

“It’s the worst of all possible worlds if Macron gets an easy win and doesn’t have to actually do anything,” he added.