EU grants "smooth access" to apologists for genocide

Chuck Wald (left) has offered excuses for Israel’s genocidal tactics in Gaza. (US European Command)

The new editor-in-chief of The Jewish Chronicle has either not informed himself adequately about that publication’s past or resorted to deliberate deception.

When he took up the job in February, Daniel Schwammenthal claimed that “this has always been, and always will be, a Zionist newspaper.”

The claim was inaccurate.

The Jewish Chronicle was founded in 1841, more than five decades before Zionism’s foundational text – The Jewish State by Theodor Herzl – was published. Far from being enamored with the ideology in its early stages, the newspaper warned that Zionism was “ill-considered, retrogressive, impracticable, even dangerous.”

Schwammenthal has a record of saying things that he cannot substantiate.

During October 2023, he tweeted that “Hamas has its headquarters” either in or under Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital.

That was a brazen lie – told to give Israel a pretext for attacking healthcare providers, as has been done with terrifying regularity throughout the genocide.

When he told that lie, Schwammenthal was heading the Brussels office of the American Jewish Committee (AJC), a pro-Israel lobby group. Although the European Union has a policy of fighting disinformation, its officials maintained friendly relations with Schwammenthal despite his dishonesty.

The relations were so friendly that Schwammenthal invited some of them to his farewell party in February – shortly before he left for London, where The Jewish Chronicle is based.

His invitation promised “great Israeli food, drinks and hopefully not too many speeches.” Hélène Le Gal, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa in the EU’s diplomatic service, was among those who accepted.

Welcoming

Le Gal – previously the French ambassador to Israel and Morocco – has been extremely welcoming toward the AJC.

Toward the end of last year, the AJC arranged for Chuck Wald, a retired US general, to visit Brussels.

Although Wald played a senior role in the catastrophic war against Afghanistan, he is still treated as a credible source of advice on military matters. He was among the “experts” tasked by the Jewish Institute for the National Security of America (JINSA) – another lobbying outfit – to analyze Israel’s current war on Gaza.

Published in May 2024, the JINSA report concluded that the Israeli army has “carried out its mission to eliminate the Hamas threat with operational and tactical excellence.” Overall, Israel had complied with the laws relating to armed conflicts, it added.

The report was issued a few weeks after Israel began a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah. That violent offensive led to major displacement and made the distribution of aid even more nightmarish, thereby causing a sharp rise in hunger and malnutrition.

If Le Gal was loyal to the Brussels hierarchy, she would have been outraged by how “experts” like Wald have sought to excuse such crimes against humanity. Josep Borrell, then the EU’s foreign policy boss, had spoken out against the Rafah invasion, accurately predicting it would result in a “lot of civilian casualties.”

Le Gal’s staff nonetheless assured the AJC that she would be “delighted” to meet Wald, according to a document obtained via a freedom of information request. While Wald’s name was redacted, the accompanying biographical details correspond with his.

Wald and a fellow military expert would be granted “smooth access” to the headquarters of the EU diplomatic service, Le Gal’s staff pledged. That means that unlike many other visitors, they would not be required to undergo a security check.

“Smooth access.” The phrase says it all.