(JTA) — Former French President Nicolas Sarzkozy said that Israel should be pressured to make concessions to the Palestinians.
In his Jan. 24 address to a dinner organized by the Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal, Sarkozy said that Israel’s government has “enclosed” the Jewish state behind “the ramparts of Jericho,” according to a Jan. 30 report in Le Nouvel Observateur.
The newsweekly cited conflicting accounts about Sarkozy’s fee and who had paid it, reporting that Lily Safra, the Monaco-based philanthropist, paid him 150,000 Euros ($204,000) as well as sources close to Sarkozy disputing that sum.
Joe Tugendhaft, the president of Keren Hayesod in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland, said Safra was not involved, claiming that five philanthropists had paid Sarkozy for his appearance.
