Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy shocked attendees of a United Israel Appeal dinner last week, when he called on the international community to pressure Israel into creating a Palestinian state. "Israel has surrounded herself with walls of Jericho,” Sarkozy said to a room of wealthy, mostly pro-Israel donors. “It will be necessary to bring down the walls in order to save her.” The 45-minute speech from last week was reported on yesterday by a French magazine. The publication claimed …More

Belgian Health Minister Laurette Onkelinx has accused her Israeli counterpart of “fundamentalist” attitudes for refusing to shake her hand. Onkelinx met Israeli Deputy Health Minister Ya'akov Litzman at the annual World Health Assembly in Geneva Wednesday. Litzman, the leader of the haredi United Torah Judaism party, declined to shake Onkelinx’s hand because he doesn not touch members of the opposite sex. “My hands are clean!” Onkelinx protested in a post on her Facebook page. …More

The United Nations canceled an appearance by a Hamas leader at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The cancellation Monday of an appearance by Ismail al-Ashqar, a senior official with Hamas, followed an official complaint filed with UN officials by Israeli Ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the appearance in a statement following an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. Al-Ashqar was barred from entering the Human Rights Council meeting and was …More

Swiss party ad features Jewish doll Jewish community outraged: Anti-Semitic group in Geneva distributes ad for independence day party showing doll wearing yarmulke with arrow on its head, Israeli flag painted on share Ads promoting an independence party in Geneva featured a doll of a man wearing a yarmulke with an arrow in its head and an Israeli flag painted on it, Swiss media reported Friday. According to Swiss reports, a local anti-Semitic and anti-Israel group, the GNC, is behind the ad. Last week, a Swiss …More