Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the actions of unidentified perpetrators, who vandalized the entrance of El Al’s offices in Paris with red paint and anti-Israel slogans, on Thursday.
Israel “strongly condemns the attack on El Al airline, whose planes bear the Israeli flag, and calls on the French government to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure the safety of the company’s staff and offices,” the ministry said. “The antisemitic attacks in France must be dealt with the utmost severity, and more must be done to combat this poisonous disease.”
The perpetrators used a stencil and red paint to leave graffiti that read “El Al genocide airline,” and wrote “Palestine will live, Palestine will win” on the entrance, on which they’d thrown red paint.
Charles Kushner, the U.S. ambassador to Paris, called the attack a “vile, cowardly, antisemitic” act.
“The defacing of the El Al office in Paris is not just an attack on Israel, but on the Jewish community itself and all those who stand for freedom and tolerance,” said the U.S. envoy, who is Jewish and whose son is married to U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter.
“We must meet this hatred with zero tolerance and unwavering solidarity,” Kushner stated. “I call on the French government to fully prosecute this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka visited the scene after speaking with French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev stated in French that “French citizens must understand. Today it’s El Al. Tomorrow it could be Air France. We must all act together to condemn antisemitism and hatred, everywhere in the world.”
When French President Emmanuel Macron “makes announcements that give gifts to Hamas, this is the result,” Regev stated in Hebrew. “I condemn the barbaric and violent act against El Al and expect the law enforcement authorities in France to locate the criminals and take strong action against them.”
An El Al spokesperson told JNS that Israeli media reports that airline staff in Paris had been evacuated were incorrect.
French-Israeli relations have deteriorated since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, murdering some 1,200 people and triggering an ongoing Israeli military campaign to dismantle Hamas and free all of the 251 hostages the terrorist group had taken.
France said on July 24 that it intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September, leading other European and Western countries to declare the same. France has also imposed an arms embargo on Israel, and Macron suggested in November 2023 that Israel’s actions in Gaza were “barbarism.”
