Emmanuel Macron and his advisers seem intent on taking contortion to a new limit.
As soon as the French president says something that upsets the Tel Aviv establishment, his entourage twists itself into various uncomfortable positions while trying to strike a different tone.
When Israel announced that it is taking legal action against the alleged exclusion of its firms from the Euronaval arms fair, Macron’s team at the Élysée Palace denied that a “boycott” is taking place. The palace just opposes “any promotion of weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon, which cause unacceptable damage to the civilian population,” Macron’s office has said.
The awkward attempts to fudge important issues should not distract from how quite a few of Macron’s allies are ensconced in the pro-Israel lobby.
Some of his allies may even be using the lobby to advance their careers.
Damien Bertrand-Fortobeaux is a new recruit at the Brussels office of the European Leadership Network (Elnet), a pro-Israel advocacy group. Before taking up that job, he was an assistant to Ilana Cicurel, until recently a lawmaker representing Macron’s Renaissance party.
Cicurel did not reply to a query, asking if she recommended Bertrand for the Elnet job.
Even if she did not provide a recommendation, Bertrand’s hiring is a case of revolving doors between institutions that theoretically serve the European public and pressure groups serving foreign states. (more...)
Macron’s minions are still in love with Israel
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