Israeli activists reject French genocide accusation as politically motivated

French judges have reportedly issued arrest warrants for Rachel Tuito and Nili Kupfer-Naouri, two French-Israeli activists, accusing them of “public and direct incitement to genocide” and “complicity in genocide” in Gaza. Tuito, the spokesperson for the protest movement Tzav 9, and Kupfer-Naouri, who leads the Israel Forever NGO, are said to have actively blocked the inflow of aid to the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-initiated war, at a time when Hamas terrorists still held a significant number of Israeli hostages in the coastal enclave.

The dual French and Israeli nationals learned of the legal charges against them through a report published by the French news outlet Le Monde on Sunday. Both reject the charges as a politically motivated attack on pro-Israel activists and, ultimately, on Israeli soldiers defending their country.

“I’m an easy target, but the real objective here is to harm IDF soldiers,” Tuito said in an interview with Ynet News. “I intend to fight this,” she vowed.

Pro-Israel activists blocked aid to Gaza to protest Hamas’ refusal to release the Israeli hostages during the war. 

Tuito blasted the French court’s ruling as an attempt to criminalize pro-Israel activism. 

“France has become Iran,” she argued. “When did waving the Israeli flag become a war crime? We protested because we couldn’t bear the thought of aid going in while our hostages and soldiers were still inside Gaza,” Tuito explained.

She firmly rejects the charges of “genocide” and incitement and stressed that the aid did eventually enter Gaza. “I spoke to foreign media to raise awareness. The aid still went in. Now they accuse me of genocide?”

Due to the arrest order, Tuito said she would not travel to France but has hired French attorney Gilles-William Goldnadel to defend her. She views her court case as a prelude to a fight for all dual-national Israeli soldiers and activists. 

“This isn’t just my fight, it’s the fight of every dual-national Israeli soldier who could be next,” she warned.

Kupfer-Naouri downplayed the incident by arguing that the French court had issued a summons and not yet legal arrest warrants. 

“Let’s be precise, this is a summons, not a warrant,” she said. “I haven’t received any official notice. But I feel enormous pride. I stood up for my country."

She said she is prepared to testify via a video call. 

“France can’t guarantee my security,” the French-Israeli said. “There have already been threats, and the atmosphere on the streets is increasingly hostile to Jews and Israelis."

Kupfer-Naouri argued: “The aim is to calm the far-left and Muslim street in France,” adding, “I started an NGO to help French Jews make aliyah because it’s no longer safe there."

The Tzav 9 organization blasted the French court’s conduct as a “mark of shame” for a Western democracy against peaceful pro-Israel protesters, stressing that Tuito opposed aid being “delivered directly into the hands of Hamas murderers.”

“No arrest warrant or attempt at international intimidation will weaken our resolve,” the organization said in an official statement. “We are proud of Racheli and will stand with her fully in this just legal battle."

France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities and has experienced a dramatic increase in antisemitism following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack. However, antisemitism has remained a significant problem in French society long before the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of 251 people from Israel.

Thousands of French Jews have immigrated to the Jewish state, citing a mix of rising antisemitism and Zionist motivations.

Last August, French Jewish leader Robert Ejnes, who heads the French Jewish umbrella organization CRIF, said that more Jews would consider leaving France if the French government failed to address the antisemitic rhetoric. 

A new Eurobarometer poll revealed that 55% of Europeans now view antisemitism as a problem in their respective countries. In France, 74% of the respondents said that hatred against Jews had become a serious problem. In addition, a whopping 90% of the French respondents said there is a real risk that Jews could be physically attacked in the country.