French Government Apparently Divided on Question of Repayment of Israeli Funds

The Israel Embassy here issued a statement Friday that Israel had not applied to France for a refund of money paid for weapons and spare parts embargoed last week by President de Gaulle because it continued to demand that France supply the Mirage planes and equipment “ordered and paid for.” The statement came as two French Cabinet members expressed differing views on whether Israel had rights under international law to demand a refund and as the political controversy over the embargo continued to rage throughout France. In a radio interview in which he rejected charges of anti-Semitism which have been levelled against Gen. de Gaulle in the spreading uproar, Foreign Minister Michel Debre said that any Israeli claim for repayment would “be dealt with in normal commercial ways.” But Defense Minister Pierre Messmer asserted that the embargo was “an act of Government” and that no French courts had ever accepted jurisdiction in such disputes. He also told a press conference that the Government would not allow the Israelis to claim the money in a French court. He said it was “an old French tradition that no courts, either civil or administrative, would agree to sit in judgment on decision taken as an ‘act of Government’ in cases of national necessity.”

Meanwhile, members of the Government majority, both Gaullists and the minority Independent Republicans, joined in increasing numbers to protest the embargo, demanding that Ministers Debre and Messmer explain the reasons for it. Observers said that a serious rift could develop between the Gaullists and the minority party and even raised the possibility of a split developing in the coalition. Some Gaullist deputies sought to organize a minority faction to bring pressure to bear on the French Cabinet to rescind the embargo. The Socialist Party also denounced the embargo and said it would try to take action when the Parliament convened later this month.

The anti-Semitism issue touched on by M. Debre involved a statement by Information Minister Joel Le Theule, apparently echoing remarks Gen. de Gaulle made at a Cabinet meeting this week, that “certain Israeli influences had become apparent in circles close to information media,” a charge which infuriated a number of press and radio editors who immediately demanded that the Government identify the accused media. When the question was raised during the Debre interview, he replied by implying that many leading Frenchmen who had assailed Gen. de Gaulle and favored Israel in the embargo controversy had been collaborators with the pro-Nazi Vichy Government during World War II. In criticizing pressure groups, he also said that there was nothing defamatory in saying that such groups sometimes served a foreign government.

He insisted that France had supported Israel, “when Israel needed French help” but that now, when Israel’s neighbors are in danger of their very security,” France has had to “reverse this policy.” He insisted that “Israel’s security and prosperity have always been close to Gen. de Gaulle’s heart and the General has never weakened on this point.” He asserted that the embargo was necessary to force the Big Four to assume “their responsibility for world peace and to try to work out a solution for the Middle East crisis.” He was asked whether there was a possibility that the unilateral embargo act might postpone Mideast peace and replied that French actions “should serve as an example to all countries.” However, he refused to discuss that point further.

OPPOSITION TO EMBARGO GROWS; DE GAULLE CRITICIZED; MANY URGE REVOCATION

The de Gaulle decision was under strong attack all weekend by political groups, civic organizations, and Jewish and non-Jewish politicians and personalities in various fields. Despite the President’s tough anti-Israel stand since the Arab-Israel War, the French public continues to be strongly sympathetic to the Jewish State. A statement by Grand Rabbi Jacob Kaplan of Paris was read in synagogues throughout the country. It voiced “profound sadness at seeing the Government….taking it upon itself to sap the defense potential of Israel against those who multiply their attacks.” Rabbi Kaplan said that Israel had “narrowly avoided the threat of genocide” and the fate of the Nigerian secessionist province of Biafra, afflicted by mass starvation and death. Prof. Rene Cassin, 1967 Nobel Peace Prize winner and a longtime de Gaulle follower, told an audience in Nice that “France is not on the side of justice” and voiced hope that the embargo would be revoked. Jewish organizations, linked within the framework of the Coordination Committee of Jewish Organizations of France, urged nullification.

The Committee for French Solidarity with Israel, headed by Gen. Pierre Koenig, military commander of the Free French Force in World War II and a national hero, urged the country to sign a petition condemning the embargo. The committee declared that Israel “has the right to obtain arms necessary for her safety.” It accused the Government of aggravating the Middle East situation and jeopardizing France’s role as a peace mediator. Andre Monteil, president of the French Senate’s Foreign Affairs Commission, told a meeting of the Solidarity Committee that he and fellow Senators will seek to have the embargo rescinded. Foreign Minister Debre has been asked to appear before a special session of the commission to explain the embargo decision.

Former Information Minister Georges Gorse was in Lebanon yesterday as personal representative of de Gaulle to provide fresh assurances that France would support Lebanon in its differences with Israel. Meanwhile M. Messmer will soon visit Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, it was announced. Both Arab states have voiced a desire to buy French arms.