Dr. Emmanuel Navon – consultant, university lecturer, and international relations public speaker – says the new European left-wing J-Call group does not represent European Jewry.
J-Call publicized a petition this week signed by 3,000 European Jews in favor of a Jewish construction freeze in Six Day War-liberated Jerusalem. In response, French-born Dr. Navon claims that most of them are left wing Israelis. He said he is leading a counter-petition “that will prove that Europe is not only those left-wing Israelis who ran away from here [Israel] and incite against Israel. There are many in Europe who truly understand our struggle, including some in conservative parties; they recognize our rights and know that we always tried to make compromises with the Arabs.”
Navon spoke with Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew newsmagazine on Wednesday.
“Those who like to malign Israel,” he said, “have an entire theory about how to solve the Middle East conflict. But this theory has failed and continues to be disproven again and again. But instead of admitting that they are wrong, they choose to blame Israel for the failure.”
As an example, Dr. Navon cites a former Israeli Ambassador to France, Prof. Eli Bar-Navi. “He is a history professor who taught in Tel Aviv University… When he was ambassador, he always attacked us; in 2000 he emigrated from Israel, and since 2005 he has headed the European Museum, leading the anti-Israel initiative – all in order to tell the Europeans that Israel is the one to blame for the lack of peace in the Middle East.”
Dr. Navon, a political commentator for Israeli and French media, said that J-Call receives funding from many European countries: “The European press likes to attack Israel, and an organization that attacks Israel instead of blaming the Arabs receives positive coverage… We can say one thing in favor of Israelis who left Israel in order to find refuge in Europe: at least they don’t live in the country whose very right to existence they are unsure of.”