I watched Sarkozy’s speech to Congress on C-Span last night and it brought tears to my eyes. That guy has some good writers.
Sarkozy summoned us to what is great in America. He talked about American individuality and daring, he told us what Duke Ellington and Marilyn Monroe had meant to him, and he said that a black grandson of slaves had forced America to be true to its promise: Martin Luther King. That brought the pols to their feet!
He also reminded us what we did in the good war, WW2, when we liberated Europe. We freed his parents’ generation. He grew up reading the letters home of 20-year-old American boys who were about to die for him. He told us about Eisenhower’s speech to his soldiers before D-Day. He said, "The eyes of the world are upon you." They were taking a stand for freedom. Wow. I would have fought my guts out, too. And Sarkozy said that France was all for the war in Afghanistan.
He skipped right over Iraq, saying that we had our "disagreements." But France was with us in the war against terror.
There’s an Israel angle here. Friendship contains disagreement. It’s happened in my strongest friendships. Friends grow apart, friends sometimes disapprove of each other; but your good friends maintain a connection. France is seen as hard on Israel now, but time was when France helped Israel fight Nassar in the Sinai, and when France helped Israel get nukes. I believe the French would fight if anyone tried to push the Jews into the sea. Here, the Israel lobby has maintained a steadfastness in American support for Israel that is unhealthy. There’s no room. You’d think that 40 years of illegal settlements and now a confiscatory apartheid "security fence" might have precipitated some distance, some sanctions, some angry words between our countries. No. The settlements proliferate, and we have to stick by Israel. That’s not what friends do.
i wonder how long before the french get tired of having him as pres…the truth is so much stranger than fiction sometimes that i have given up reading sci-fi.
…it brought tears to my eyes.
I wish you hadn't written that, Phil.
Here's something interesting from William Cook on how zionist elites have manipulated jews:
http://www.counterpunch.org/cook11072007.html
November 7, 2007
Congress and the Israel Lobby
The Politics of Servility
By WILLIAM COOK
These are the words of the British High Commissioner for Palestine, Harold MacMichael, addressed to the Secretary of State, dated 16th of October, 1941:
3. A second matter which deeply impresses me is the almost Nazi control exercised by the official Jewish organizations over the Jewish community, willy nilly, through the administration of funds from abroad, the issue of labor certificates in connection with the immigration quota, the forced contribution of funds and the power of the Histadruth. The Royal Commission were, in my view, fundamentally at error in describing the Jewish community in Palestine as "intensely democratic' (chapter V, paragraph 7). The Zionist organization, the whole social structure which it has created in Palestine, has the trappings but none of the essentials of democracy. The community is under the closed oligarchy of the Jewish official organizations which control Zionist policy and circumscribe the lives of the Jewish community in all directions the Mapai, the Histadruth, the Vaad Leumi and the Jewish Agency. The reality of power is in the Agency, with the Hagana, the illegal military organization, always in the background. (copy of dispatch, Reference No. 0.8.573, Rhodes Library Archives, Bodleian Library, Oxford University).
The irony of course is that the Jewish people, roughly 500,000 in 1941, were, in the opinion of the High Commissioner for the British Mandate government, controlled by the Zionists by methods not dissimilar to those being used on Jews and legislators alike in our government today. M and W have recounted the techniques used to subdue criticism of the state of Israel so that our representatives fear even the use of "even handed" or "balanced broker" that might imply the need for some measure of justice by Israel for the Palestinians. MacMichael's report establishes the truth about the military power Zionists had at their disposal even as early as 1941. He notes they could field approximately 30,000 well trained and experienced troops, and in numbers and caliber they are a "formidable adversary." Yet, then as now, the Zionists proclaim that it is the Jews who are in danger, who are the victims despite their evident superiority then as now.
as i said earlier…sarkozy has a credibility dilemma.
http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2578.shtml
As if his marital challenges were not enough cause for concern, "Sarco the Sayan" has suddenly emerged as the most infamous accolade of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The influential French daily Le Figaro last week revealed that the French leader once worked for — and perhaps still does, it hinted — Israeli intelligence as a sayan (Hebrew for helper), one of the thousands of Jewish citizens of countries other than Israel who cooperate with the katsas (Mossad case-officers).
A letter dispatched to French police officials late last winter — long before the presidential election but somehow kept secret — revealed that Sarkozy was recruited as an Israeli spy. The French police is currently investigating documents concerning Sarkozy's alleged espionage activities on behalf of Mossad, which Le Figaro claims dated as far back as 1983. According to the author of the message, in 1978, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin ordered the infiltration of the French ruling Gaullist Party, Union pour un Mouvement Populaire. Originally targeted were Patrick Balkany, Patrick Devedjian and Pierre Lellouche. In 1983, they recruited the "young and promising" Sarkozy, the "fourth man".
could you please delete my second message on this commentblog.
Phil,
I really think you should be a tad more prudent with Sarkozy, you may be embarrassed by your premature enthusiasm before too long.
Sorry. This initially posted on the wrong thread.
Sarkozy once recruited by Mossad? Sounds like the stuff of tabloids but the story was broken by Le Figaro, a respectable, if right-wing, French newspaper on Oct. 12, 2007. Link:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/france/20071012.FIG000000291_les_etranges_accusations_d_un_cybercorbeau.html
Google translation:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lefigaro.fr%2Ffrance%2F20071012.FIG000000291_les_etranges_accusations_d_un_cybercorbeau.html&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
If true, could this have something to do with France's newfound bellicosity vis a vis Iran?
Sarkozy a spy for the Mossad?
Hard to believe that Sarkozy would tell anyone if he was and I don't see why the Mossad would "out" him and thus destroy such a fine asset.
Sarkozy is acting pro-Israel, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, for the same reason that Giuliani is. They think that Israel and its lobby are where the power is and they are power addicts.
Sarkozy is a close friend of Netanyahu.
"Sarkozy is a close friend of Netanyahu"
Now, that I can believe.
But my advice is to hold off on trying to read too much into Sarkozy… My hunch is that his wheels are going to fall off… and much earlier than anyone suspects.
"France is seen as hard on Israel now, but time was when France helped Israel fight Nassar (sic) in the Sinai,…"
I wouldn't bring that up in the context of a renewed French – American friendship based on a common interest in Israel. This combined French-English-Israeli aggression (triggered off by Nasser's nationalization of the Suez-Canal) was, after all, called to a halt by an American president.
The following article regarding Sarkozy's alleged 'Jewish roots' appeared in the Australian Jewish News of May 8 2007.
"France's new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, lost 57 members of his family to the Nazis and comes from a long line of Jewish and Zionist leaders and heroes, writes RAANAN ELIAZ.
IN an interview Nicolas Sarkozy gave in 2004, he expressed an extraordinary understanding of the plight of the Jewish people for a home: “Should I remind you the visceral attachment of every Jew to Israel, as a second mother homeland? There is nothing outrageous about it. Every Jew carries within him a fear passed down through generations, and he knows that if one day he will not feel safe in his country, there will always be a place that would welcome him. And this is Israel.”
Sarkozy’s sympathy and understanding is most probably a product of his upbringing it is well known that Sarkozy’s mother was born to the Mallah family, one of the oldest Jewish families of Salonika, Greece.
Additionally, many may be surprised to learn that his yet-to-be-revealed family history involves a true and fascinating story of leadership, heroism and survival.
It remains to be seen whether his personal history will affect his foreign policy and France’s role in the Middle East conflict.
In the 15th century, the Mallah family (in Hebrew: messenger or angel) escaped the Spanish Inquisition to Provence, France and moved about one hundred years later to Salonika.
In Greece, several family members became prominent Zionist leaders, active in the local and national political, economic, social and cultural life.
To this day many Mallahs are still active Zionists around the world.
Sarkozy’s grandfather, Aron Mallah, nicknamed Benkio, was born in 1890.
Beniko’s uncle Moshe was a well-known Rabbi and a devoted Zionist who, in 1898 published and edited “El Avenir”, the leading paper of the Zionist national movement in Greece at the time.
His cousin, Asher, was a Senator in the Greek Senate and in 1912 he helped guarantee the establishment of the Technion – the elite technological university in Haifa, Israel.
In 1919 he was elected as the first President of the Zionist Federation of Greece and he headed the Zionist Council for several years. In the 1930’s he helped Jews flee to Israel, to which he himself immigrated in 1934.
Another of Beniko’s cousins, Peppo Mallah, was a philanthropist for Jewish causes who served in the Greek Parliament, and in 1920 he was offered, but declined, the position of Greece’s Minister of Finance. After the establishment of the State of Israel he became the country’s first diplomatic envoy to Greece.
In 1917 a great fire destroyed parts of Salonika and damaged the family estate.
Many Jewish-owned properties, including the Mallah’s, were expropriated by the Greek government. Jewish population emigrated from Greece and much of the Mallah family left Salonika to France, America and Israel.
Sarkozy’s grandfather, Beniko, immigrated to France with his mother. When in France Beniko converted to Catholicism and changed his name to Benedict in order to marry a French Christian girl named Adèle Bouvier.
Adèle and Benedict had two daughters, Susanne and Andrée. Although Benedict integrated fully into French society, he remained close to his Jewish family, origin and culture.
Knowing he was still considered Jewish by blood, during World War II he and his family hid in Marcillac la Croisille in the Corrèze region, western France.
During the Holocaust, many of the Mallahs who stayed in Salonika or moved to France were deported to concentration and extermination camps.
In total, fifty-seven family members were murdered by the Nazis. Testimonies reveal that several revolted against the Nazis and one, Buena Mallah, was the subject of Nazis medical experiments in the Birkenau concentration camp.
In 1950 Benedict’s daughter, Andrée Mallah, married Pal Nagy Bosca y Sarkozy, a descendent of a Hungarian aristocratic family. The couple had three sons – Guillaume, Nicolas and François.
The marriage failed and they divorced in 1960, so Andrée raised her three boys close to their grandfather, Benedict.
Nicolas was especially close to Benedict, who was like a father to him. In his biography Sarkozy tells he admired his grandfather, and through hours spent of listening to his stories of the Nazi occupation, the “Maquis” (French resistance), De Gaulle and the D-day, Benedict bequeathed to Nicolas his political convictions.
Sarkozy’s family lived in Paris until Benedict’s death in 1972, at which point they moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine to be closer to the boys’ father, Pal (who changed his name to Paul) Sarkozy. Various memoirs accounted Paul as a father who did not spend much time with the kids or help the family monetarily.
Nicolas had to sell flowers and ice cream in order to pay for his studies. However, his fascination with politics led him to become the city’s youngest mayor and to rise to the top of French and world politics. The rest is history.
It may be a far leap to consider that Sarkozy’s Jewish ancestry may have any bearing on his policies vis-à-vis Israel.
However, many expect Sarkozy’s presidency to bring a dramatic change not only in France’s domestic affairs, but also in the country’s foreign policy in the Middle-East.
One cannot overestimate the magnitude of the election of the first French President born after World War II, whose politics seem to represent a new dynamic after decades of old-guard Chirac and Mitterrand.
There is even a reason to believe that Sarkozy, often mocked as “the American friend” and blamed for ‘ultra-liberal’ worldviews, will lean towards a more Atlanticist policy.
Nevertheless, there are several reasons that any expectations for a drastic change in the country’s Middle East policy, or foreign policy in general, should be downplayed.
First, one must bear in mind that France’s new president will spend the lion’s share of his time dealing with domestic issues such as the country’s stagnated economy, its social cohesiveness and the rising integration-related crime rate. When he finds time to deal with foreign affairs, Sarkozy will have to devote most of his energy to protecting France’s standing in an ever-involved European Union.
In his dealings with the US, Sarkozy will most likely prefer to engage on less explosive agenda-items than the Middle-East.
Second, France’s foreign policy stems from the nation’s interests, rooted in reality and influenced by a range of historic, political, strategic and economic considerations.
Since Sarkozy’s landing at the Elysée on May 16 will not change those, France’s foreign policy ship will not tilt so quickly under a new captain.
Third reason why expectations for a drastic change in France’s position in the Middle-East may be naïve is the significant weight the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs exerts over the country’s policies and agenda.
There, non-elected bureaucrats tend to retain an image of Israel as a destabilizing element in the Middle-East rather then the first line of defence of democracy.
Few civil servants in Quai d’Orsay would consider risking France’s interests or increasing chances for “a clash of civilizations” in order to help troubled Israel or Palestine to reach peace.
It is a fair to predict that France will stay consistent with its support in establishing a viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing side by side with a peaceful Israel.
How to get there, if at all, will not be set by Sarkozy’s flagship but rather he will follow the leadership of the US and the EU. Not much new policy is expected regarding Iran, on which Sarkozy has already voiced willingness to allow development of civilian nuclear capabilities, alongside tighter sanctions on any developments with military potency.
One significant policy modification that could actually come through under Sarkozy is on the Syrian and Lebanese fronts. The new French president is not as friendly to Lebanon as was his predecessor, furthermore, as the Minister of the Interior, Sarkozy even advocated closer ties between France and Syria.
Especially if the later plays the cards of talking-peace correctly, Sarkozy may increase pressure on Israel to evacuate the Golan Heights in return for a peace deal with Assad.
Despite the above, although Sarkozy’s family roots will not bring France closer to Israel, the presidents’ personal Israeli friends may. As a Minister of Interior, Sarkozy shared much common policy ground with former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The two started to develop a close friendship not long ago and it is easy to observe similarities not only in their ideology and politics, but also in their public image. If Netanyahu returns to Israel’s chief position it will be interesting to see whether their personal dynamic will lead to a fresh start for Israel and France, and a more constructive European role in the region."
EJPRESS
Raanan Eliaz is a former Director at the Israeli National Security Council and the Hudson Institute, Washington D.C. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, and a consultant on European-Israeli Affairs.
I copy here again one of the statements France's then president, De Gaulle, made a few months after the Six Day War (on 27th November 1967). Why could De Gaulle, forty years ago, see coming what many American pollies refuse to see even today? This press conference of De Gaulle contained the valedictory speech for the French-Israeli alliance.
"Israel attacked, and reached its objectives in six days of fighting. NOW IT ORGANISES ITSELF ON CONQUERED TERRITORIES, THE OCCUPATION OF WHICH CANNOT GO WITHOUT OPPRESSION, REPRESSION, EXPULSIONS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME A RESISTANCE GROWS, WHICH IT REGARDS AS TERRORISM." (emphasis added AB).