There are opportunities that must be grabbed when they present themselves, or they are lost. Israel, facing a rising tide of anti-Israel antisemitism is confronted with one of those opportunities now. Israel’s response will have broader ramifications than the issue at hand.
Israel has been barred from the Eurosatory Defense Trade Show in France and Israeli companies have been barred from showing anything France does not consider a “defensive" weapon. That is a fascinating decision to put in the hands of an antisemite. Is a Glock for which I have a concealed carry license a defensive or offensive weapon? Would it be the same in the hands of a Hezbollah terrorist?
But that isn’t really the point, is it? What is on display is French antisemitism, a double standard, bias, and it must be addressed.
Will the response be the cowering response of the exiled Jew or the proud strong response of the IDF Israeli Ba’al Habayit, (“homeowner") we have seen for the past 3 years? One of these responses will engender more of the same, the other will challenge the perfidious French and anyone else who thinks this is a good idea.
If Israel takes the bull by the horns, the Eurosatory ban could be one of the best things that happens to Israel, but it requires that Israel move fast, very fast. Eurosatory dates are June 15th to 19th, I’m sure the French waited till so late to make their announcement excluding Israel to prevent Israel from having any time to appeal or find any alternative. To me, all that is the best reason to pull out all stops and, full power forward, to make this kind of solution actually happen.
When I first heard about it my thoughts were that, especially now, people want to see Israeli products. Israel should rent a space outside the show, find an industrial building and put the entire Israeli contingent in there and then watch the show shift focus down the street to battle proven Israeli products and services.
But such a plan has a major flaw in that it sends a whole lot of money to French pockets to protest France. And worse, the security concerns, because by isolating everything Israeli you are also making it easy to target everything Israeli. There are people who would protest it, possibly violently, and by separating it out we’ve made it an easy target. This is not a good plan. So, where will Eurosatory be able to see the stuff that has made Israeli defence good enough to draw President Trump to trust his B2 bombers to it?
Plan B would be to run a totally separate show in Tel Aviv, EurosatoryTA, free entrance with your Eurosatory ticket. Israel can invite all the attendees to come to Tel Aviv, free charters between de Gaulle and Ben Gurion including 1 or 2 nights’ free accommodations in TA.
Expensive? No, pocket change relative to what one or two sales at EurosatoryTA are worth, and besides, visitors on government and corporate expense accounts with all that Tel Aviv offers, …. And please, come back next year!
A lot of Israeli companies that just don’t have the budgets to go to France, would get exposure displaying at EurosatoryTA. Israeli companies have their boardroom nearby to continue discussions in private, and more restaurants to explore for smaller meetings. Trade shows are big money makers, being barred is very costly. Don’t be barred.
Singling out Israel like this can not be tolerated. If there’s no response it will continue to grow, but this kind of response changes the narrative to “you exclude Israel, we’ll do it ourselves, and as Israel always does, it will be done better." It turns the tables on antisemitism in the best way possible, without having to address it, without excuses.
Holding an Israeli show concurrently also deals with the future in that it makes antisemitism costly. This is not the first such display from France, they go way back, and without a firm response it won’t be the last. Israel’s own EurosatoryTA, this year, opens the door to doing it again next year, and avoiding the inevitable threats completely. Israel could still offer the flights and the lodging, but may not need to, and if you were India, or another friendly country, working with Israeli defense companies, where would you choose to display? In other words, doing this changes the playing field forever, at several levels.
But we must start, and the first step is deciding what kind of Jews we are in 2026. Showing France that Israel isn't going to be pushed around, is a different way of thinking. It is just the beginning, and a good one that could also have a global effect. Never again.
Paul Rotenberg lives in Toronto and is and is editor of the weekly Israel newsletter, Israel and the Jewish World, available from news@tzcnews.com. He and his wife have five children at various stages of proud service in the IDF.