Three French philosophical stories: Gen. de Gaulle was accused of anti-Semitism too

Similarities between the people mentioned here and anybody in reality are a mere coincidence. The stories told here aim first and foremost to give readers, both old and young, some relief from the cares of everyday life.

The first story is about the deputy managing editor-in-chief of a major radio station who came under intense fire for committing the crime of falling in love with the Arab and Islamic civilization.

This man was obsessed with Arab literature and heritage. He was fond of the Arab culinary culture and Arab people in general.

This man's obsession with the Arab culture enraged the Israeli ambassador in Paris at the time. The ambassador asked this man's boss to sack him.

The ambassador called, in front of everybody, for sacking this man. He accused the articles this man wrote of slandering the "land of Israel".

Because the people present while the ambassador made this request were courageous enough, none of them dared to challenge him or even object to his demands.

Consequently, the troublemaking deputy managing editor-in-chief of the station was sacked. This happened so quickly that some people thought the Israeli diplomat became an influential member of the board of the station.

After the man's sacking, everything became under control once more.

The second story is about another senior official at another French public media organization.

This man was so rude that he wrote a book about the Israeli West Bank barrier. The guard dogs protecting the French ideology at the time never used the word "wall" to describe the barrier. This despicable word brought to public memory the "Berlin Wall" which divided the German capital after World War II.

They, instead, used the term "Security Barrier", as if the future of occupied Palestinian territories should turn into a security issue linked to the on the ongoing war on terrorism.

Here, too, the Israeli Embassy in Paris staged a campaign of smear to force this man to leave his job. Soon after the man's book came out, the board of the media organization where he worked convened. During the meeting, the Israeli Embassy was in continual contact with a member of the board of the organization to ensure that the man would be sacked. Everything returned to normal after his sacking.

The third story is about the head of an NGO specialized in Middle and Near East affairs. At a meeting with some senior French officials, this man criticized Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. A few hours later, the same man was at the center of massive social media campaigns accusing him of anti-Semitism.

On the following day, two businessmen requested a meeting with this man. When they met him, they offered him attractive business deals. Ten minutes later, they asked him to say that his criticism of Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories was a mere slip of the tongue. The two businessmen even suggested helping the man appear on two major French channels and publish an article in the French daily Libération.

The two businessmen turned out later to be agents of the Israeli secret service, known as Mossad.

These three stories, of course, divulge worrying facts.

At a news conference following the 1967 war, French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle was asked about the situation in the Middle East. He answered by saying the following:

"The Jews, hitherto widely dispersed and who had remained what they had always been, in other words, an elite people, sure of itself and domineering, once they were together again in the lands of their former grandeur might transform into a burning, conquering ambition the heart-moving wishes voiced over nineteen long centuries: “next year in Jerusalem.”

De Gaulle's statement reverberated strongly within the Jewish community in France. They did the same among a large number of politicians sympathetic with the Israeli cause. Some people went as far as accusing de Gaulle of anti-Semitism.

In 1973, Jean d'Escrienne, an aide of de Gaulle, wrote a book, titled "The General Told Me". He said in the book that during a walk at La Boisserie Park in Colombey-les-Deux Eglises, the French president told him that he did not mean any offence to anybody. That was on the Sunday that followed the aforementioned news conference.

"When we consider a specific text honestly, we cannot take a sentence out of context; otherwise the idea expressed will be deformed. I did not say the Jewish people was domineering, but said it is an elite people, sure of itself and domineering," d'Escrienne quotes de Gaulle in his book as saying.

"There is a big difference between the two expressions. On the contrary, I complimented the Jewish people on many occasions. I would have understood their naïve reaction if I had said they were sardonic, for example, even as they are so in reality. As for the fact that I surprised the public, like you say, you know the warnings I set off before the war (the June 1967 war). I said France would consider an aggressor the party that opens fire first. The Jews should not have opened fire first. This is the reality. Loving or hating the Arab world has nothing to do with this at all. The Arab world is already there. It covers an area that stretches from Pakistan to the Atlantic Ocean."

Israel's secret services are present and strongly at that in European capitals. They enjoy unlimited support from Jews at the Diaspora. This gives these services strong confidence, even as they no longer have the best spies in the world. These services are not always effective.

Mossad manages its business in Paris through a firm division of responsibilities. In other parts of France, the agency works independently from the Israeli Embassy in Paris. The embassy depends on a large network of pro-Israel societies and organizations. It also has a large media section that has its point of contact at every media organization in France. The section pays those who cooperate with it on a monthly basis, including experts, researchers and communication specialists. These paid people are ready to act at any time when they are ordered to.

Does not this make "France, an occupied territory", suit this article most as a headline?