On June 16th, at the Paris Air Show held in France, the main booths of four Israeli companies were shut down because these companies refused to remove offensive weapons displayed at their booths. This action has been condemned by Israel.
According to a source who spoke to Reuters on Monday, the French authorities issued this order because the Israeli companies failed to comply with the instructions from French security agencies to remove offensive or weaponized systems from their booths.
The affected booths belonged to Elbit Systems, Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Uvision. Three smaller Israeli booths without any hardware displays, as well as an Israeli Ministry of Defense booth, remained open.
On that day, the Israeli Ministry of Defense stated that it outright rejected the order to remove certain weapon systems from the exhibition area, leading to organizers erecting a black wall as a response to separate the Israeli industrial area from the rest of the show.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense added that this action took place in the middle of the night, by which time Israeli defense officials and companies had already set up their booths.
In a statement, the Israeli Ministry of Defense expressed, “This outrageously unprecedented decision is filled with political and commercial considerations.” They further criticized the French for using political motivations to exclude Israel’s offensive weapons from international displays — weapons that are competitive in the French industry.
Boaz Levy, President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, remarked that the black separating wall reminded one of the “dark days when Jews were isolated from European society.”
Two attending Republican politicians from the United States also criticized France’s actions.
Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred to France’s decision as “quite absurd” in an interview outside the Israeli Defense exhibition area, while Republican Senator Katie Britt called France’s decision “short-sighted.”
Meshar Sasson, Senior Vice President of Elbit Systems, accused France of attempting to block competition and highlighted Elbit’s success in winning contracts in Europe. He stated, “If you can’t compete with someone technologically, block them, right? There’s no other way to explain this.”
Rafael characterized France’s actions as “unprecedented, irrational, and politically motivated.”
The organizers of the air show stated in a release that negotiations are ongoing, aiming to help all parties find a favorable outcome in the current situation.
The French Prime Minister’s office did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
(Reference: Reuters)