Lobby Watch 16 October 2024
Christophe Gomart is vice-chair of a European Parliament committee on “security and defense.”
European ParliamentA French lawmaker has taken part in a free trip from the pro-Israel lobby just a few months after making a pledge to avoid conflicts of interest.
Christophe Gomart is the new vice-chair of a European Parliament committee on “security and defense.” When accepting that post in July, he signed a declaration that he would respect rules on “integrity and transparency.”
Gomart has already breached that declaration by taking part in an all-expenses-paid visit to Israel marking the first anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attack. The visit was arranged by the advocacy group known as the European Leadership Network (Elnet).
Under the European Parliament’s rules, Gomart is required to promptly acknowledge any conflict of interest that arises. The rules stipulate that he must then “refrain from exercising the responsibilities with regard to this situation of conflict.”
Accepting a free trip from the pro-Israel lobby raises questions about ethical conduct and foreign interference in the work of European lawmakers. As a bare minimum, the European Parliament should open an investigation into whether it is appropriate for Gomart to take part in the Elnet junket and Gomart should step down from his vice-chair post until the probe is completed.
The committee on “security and defense” is dedicated to bolstering the weapons industry. It is beyond dispute that Israel cooperates closely with Europe’s largest arms makers.
It is equally beyond dispute that the pro-Israel lobby is pushing for greater trade and interaction between Israel and Europe.
Gomart – an army general during his previous career – appeared in a video posted on Elnet’s YouTube channel following his trip. In the clip, he says, “I believe that Israel is, to some extent, the sentinel of the Western world facing an Islamist terrorism that is spreading throughout the world.”
Since returning from his trip, Gomart has held discussions in Paris with several of Europe’s weapons makers. They include MBDA, which clinched a deal with Israel Aerospace Industries last year on supplying the Arrow 3 missile interceptor to Germany.Israel Aerospace Industries – best known as a drone producer – has subsequently boasted of playing a “pivotal role” in the current genocidal war against Gaza.
The European Parliament is theoretically opposed to “foreign interference” in its work. After evidence was gathered in 2022 that Qatar was bribing a few lawmakers, the European Parliament introduced reforms aimed at avoiding or minimizing such influence.
It has been well documented that the Israel lobby is active in the European Parliament and that it frequently offers free trips to lawmakers. And yet Israel has been conspicuously absent from a list of countries that, according to an official European Parliament report, “have invested heavily in lobbying efforts in Brussels.”
I alerted Roberta Metsola, the European Parliament’s president, to Gomart’s participation in the Elnet visit. Metsola’s team responded by saying it did not comment on “individual cases.”
“We invite you to note that the trip you are referring to was not part of an official delegation of the European Parliament,” her team added, saying that lawmakers “do not represent the institution” when they are traveling in a private capacity.
Genocidal rhetoric
Gomart, who did not reply to a request for comment, was one of six French participants in the recent trip hosted by the European Leadership Network.
They were accompanied by Arié Bensemhoun, head of Elnet in France and an outspoken apologist for Israel’s crimes.
In a recent tweet referring to the 7 October 2023 attacks, Bensemhoun vowed, “We will not forgive ‘these innocent civilians in Gaza.’ Never.”
Such rhetoric – implying that every Palestinian is a legitimate military target – echoes claims made by Isaac Herzog, Israel’s president, as Gaza came under Israeli bombardment in October 2023. Herzog’s remarks were cited by the International Court of Justice earlier this year, when it found a South African case that Israel is violating the Genocide Convention to be plausible.Other participants in the Elnet trip included Aurore Bergé, a member of the French National Assembly and a former government minister.
She is continuing to allege that mass rapes occurred on 7 October 2023, even though that allegation has been thorougly debunked.
Bergé is a leading figure in Renaissance, the same party as Emmanuel Macron, France’s president. While Macron has angered the Tel Aviv establishment with his belated calls for restrictions on arms exports, some of his colleagues evidently have a chummier relationship with Israel.
Sylvain Maillard, a Renaissance lawmaker, was completely on script when he took part in the Elnet trip. “The democracy that is Israel has the right and duty to defend itself against the terrorist groups that are Hamas and Hizballah,” he said.
Maillard exhibited a far better knowledge of Israeli talking points than of international law.The truth is that a state subjecting another people to decades of occupation and abuse does not have rights, though it does have one pressing duty. That duty is to end the occupation.
Elnet and the politicians it courts habitually circulate dishonest propaganda. They belong to a lobby of liars.
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