Israel is suing the French government over the treatment of its defence firms at this week’s Paris Air Show, claiming that the decision to block their displays from view was “bluntly antisemitic”.
Exhibits by a number of Israeli companies, including Elbit, IAI and Rafael, were obscured by a large black wall after they reportedly refused a request from organisers to remove “offensive weapons” from their stalls.
However, the ultimatum was, according to the Israelis, given at the behest of the French government, prompting a diplomatic spat which now looks set to end up in court.
A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said: “From the beginning, we gave clear instructions that were conveyed to the Israelis, namely: a ban on the display of offensive weapons at the Bourget exhibition.”
The ministry claimed that the Israeli embassy had agreed to these terms, but this has subsequently been denied by Israeli diplomatic sources, according to the Times of Israel.
But the Israeli defence ministry accused the French of “hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition – weapons that compete with French industries”.
The motivation for the ban was not clear, but attendees of the show – a major trade show frequented by the defence industry – reported that stalls assembled by firms from Turkey, China and other nations were allowed to appear freely, with only Israeli exhibits blocked off.
Major General Amir Baram, the director general of the defence ministry, has since confirmed that Israel is filing “court petitions” in relation to the snub.
He called the decision to block the Israeli exhibits “absolutely, bluntly antisemitic” and claimed it represented “commercial exclusion to prevent successful Israeli industries from competing with French ones”.
"We're not backing down. We're filing court petitions today,” he added.
The French action was also criticised by Boaz Levy, CEO of IAI, who claimed it was reminiscent of “the dark days of when Jews were segmented from European society”.
He went on: “It seems these orders came from the highest levels in Paris.
"As the son of a Holocaust survivor, I am very disturbed that not even 100 years after the Holocaust, our people are being discriminated against due to their religion.
"This type of behaviour is not acceptable and discriminates against us as Israelis and Jewish people since all of the other participants in this Airshow do not have these limitations.”
The filing comes after two separate attempts by President Macron to restrict Israeli firms from attending arms fairs last year were both thrown out by French courts.
At the time, then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called the cases “a disgrace to the French nation and the values of the free world”.
The organisers of the Paris Air Show are yet to respond publicly to the allegations, but have been contacted for comment.
