France’s Channel 2 Television man in Jerusalem, the infamous Charles Enderlin, is finally leaving the Holy Land.

As some might say: Baruch Hashem. However, Charles Enderlin was neither fired nor jailed. He remained at his prestigious post for fifteen years. Enderlin claims that he is not retiring, that he will be devoting himself to other projects. His replacement is Franck Genauzeau, a man with no known track record of anti-Semitism.

With Charles Enderlin's departure, there may now be only 999 reporters and NGO activists—maybe more--left in Jerusalem to spin the news according to the Palestinian narrative. Apparently, there are more foreign, reporters and more foreign NGOS on the ground-- especially German and Scandinavian--than in any other city or country on earth.

As my colleague, Tuvia Tenenbom, might say: I guess the world really cares about the Jews—or is it merely overly eager to “catch” Jews making mistakes so that its ongoing anti-Semitism feels justified; the Germans feel less guilty about the European Holocaust; and Muslims can feel righteous for holding onto to their long-simmering genocidal intentions towards the People of the Book, especially Jewish Israel?  

Who, really, is Charles Enderlin?

On September 30, 2000, 'twas Enderlin and his Palestinian camera man, Talal Abu Rahma, who launched the Mohammed Al-Dura Blood Libel against Israel--a libel which justified, fanned, and inflamed Arafat’s long-planned Intifada of 2000 which led to thousands of Israeli civilian and soldier deaths, injuries, and disabilities—and to a frenzy of global anti-Semitism against individual Jews and against the Jewish state.

Enderlin is the man who reported that Israeli soldiers had purposely murdered young Mohammed Al-Dura who allegedly died in his father's arms at the Netzarim junction. Enderlin claimed that the footage was so graphic, so very disturbing, that he could not show it all.

A cry went out, all Hell broke loose, Israel’s defamation reached new heights, and Mohammed al-Dura’s iconic likeness was reproduced on coffee mugs, tee-shirts all over the world. Israeli officials prematurely admitted wrongdoing and apologized without any evidence; the rest of the world called
No corpse was ever found, no autopsy performed. The legal case is complicated—as complicated as the Dreyfus Affaire.
for Israel’s blood.

No one noticed that there was no blood, no body, no autopsy report—and that from a ballistic point of view, the Israeli soldiers absolutely could not have shot the boy. No one understood, as yet, that the Palestinians had decided to fight Israel with false allegations, and fake, staged deaths.

French-Jewish stockbroker Philippe Karsenty disagreed with Enderlin--and called for Enderlin’s resignation. Enderlin sued Karsenty for libel. Over the years, an Israeli ballistic expert (Nahum Shahaf), a German filmmaker (Esther Schapira),an American academic (Professor Richard Landes), and a French-American journalist, (Nidra Poller) and finally even the Israeli government came to Karsenty's conclusion: The Israelis did not and could not have killed the boy--and little Mohammed may never have been shot. No corpse was ever found, no autopsy performed.

The legal case is complicated—as complicated as the Dreyfus Affaire.

Enderlin sued Karsenty, who was convicted of libel in 2006. The judgement was overturned on appeal in 2008. A French court had ordered Enderlin to turn over the complete tape. France 2 appealed this decision and in 2012 the court dismissed the evidence (the tape) on technical grounds and annulled Karsenty’s 2008 acquittal. In 2012 the French Supreme Court took up the case, and dismissed the defamation charges against Karsenty. In 2013, a French court found Karsenty guilty of defamation and fined him 7,000 euros. Karsenty vowed to continue to hold Enderlin accountable. “The battle is still on,” he said.

Over the years, I have interviewed Karsenty.

Karsenty named the names of some "heroes." He said that "Israeli physicist, Nahum Shahaf, is a hero. But he was awkward, and he made enemies among the IDF." Shahaf's work proved that the IDF could not have fired the shots and that it was a staged event. He also named the Head of the Israeli Government Press Office, Daniel Seaman; the French psycho-analyst Gérard Huber, who first published a book on this case in January 2003; and the American professor Richard Landes, who did a fantastic job of publicizing the truth. 

Karsenty was also willing to name other names, namely that of Israel's Ambassador to France, Danny Shek, who not only would not give him a fair hearing but who literally refused to shake his hand at a party. He also names Charles Enderlin (a Jew, and an Israeli) who recorded the voice-over for the Al Dura program. According to the September 10thJerusalem Post, "Danny Shek enjoys warms relations with Enderlin."

Karsenty's comment: "Such treason by an ambassador should have him fired forever from the Israeli foreign ministry."

The French, who defamed and punished Captain Alfred Dreyfus and who are now defaming and punishing the very Jewish state which arose, partly because of Herzl's and Zola's reaction to the Dreyfus case, partly because of chronic and extraordinary persecution of Jews in both Christian and Muslim lands, and because of Jewish religious belief; France 2 is now accusing the man who has exposed France's latest blood libel of having "defamed" them.

A classic case of projection, reversal, and scapegoating the victim (Israel) for the considerable crimes of those who hate her.

When I last talked to him, Karsenty was unafraid. He said: "Unlike Dreyfus, I am not in prison. Only my social life is ruined. If I remain guilty of defamation, it will show that France is even more corrupt than we thought."