Assaf Roet, chairman and owner of Draco Group, an Israeli company, said: “We are very happy about this ruling because it sends a message to every country that takes that position that boycotts are not must be the solution.” Must attend Eurosatory.
But Mr. Roet, whose company joined the lawsuit brought by the Franco-Israeli Chamber of Commerce, said it was too late to send a delegation back to the exhibition.
Other lawsuits over France’s decision to exclude Israeli companies from the program are still being heard.
Several pro-Palestinian groups filed a lawsuit alleging that COGES Events should take further steps to comply with the ban, arguing that some Israeli companies may be supplying Israeli forces fighting in Gaza. A court in Bobigny, a suburb north of Paris, agreed and ruled last week that arms show organizers must ban not only Israeli companies but also anyone acting as an intermediary or represents an Israeli company and must ensure that any company can be banned. Exhibitors do not accept, sell or promote Israeli weapons.
The French association Palestine Solidarité, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, welcomed the ruling and said in a statement: declare that “all parties, political and economic, have a responsibility to do their utmost to end the ongoing genocide perpetrated by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people.”
COGES Events, with the support of French authorities, appealed that ruling, arguing that it went far beyond what the government initially requested. That appeal is being considered by the Paris Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Ron Tomer, president of the Israeli Manufacturers Association, one of the main Israeli groups pressuring France to rescind the ban, told Kan Radio on Tuesday that the incident “casts a shadow on Israeli relations -France”. Israel’s defense industry is strong, he said, but the ban has damaged Israel’s image.
“The resonance this has beyond the defense sector is much greater,” Mr. Tomer said.
Johnatan Reiss Report contributions.
