By Inna Rogatchi (C)
Photo-essay with highlights.
On a night following the carnage in Paris on November 13th, 2015, I saw the Mayor of the city Anne Hidalgo on the French TV screen. She was interviewed in the early hours after the attacks. The Mayor looked pale and shocked. She could only
mumble:” The toll of attacks is very high, it is very high, very very high”.
Immediately, the world turned into a wide-spread vigil mourning the Paris victims in all and every way, from the Facebook trick of covering the profile photos with the French flag to the illuminating grand and symbolic buildings around the world in the shades of the French tri-colour.
In Israel, the Knesset lit its building with the colours of the French Republic the one of the first in the world, just after the end of Shabbat. There had been a big rally in Tel-Aviv and vigil with all dignitaries present in Jerusalem where the French flag had been honoured in a big way.
As we know, the French and Paris media while reporting on the world’s compassion towards their tragedy did omit Israel’s solidarity with them completely. No surprise of that though.
So maybe they were reporting on the reaction on the attacks among the Israel’s neighbours? Because, it was a hell of the celebration there in Ramallah, Gaza and the other places for the French cause. The Palestinians were genuinely celebrated the jihad in Paris – as they did back in January this year after the terror did strike in Paris that time, when they were infamously burning the French flag with all their brotherly enthusiasm.
I do hope that Paris Mayor saw those pictures. She has all reasons to examine them closely. And it will be amusing to hear her comments on that and the current Palestinian joy over the attacks claimed such a high tool of lives of the Parisiens, “so very high one, very very high”. As a matter of fact, she owes that explanations – to the families of the victims of the Paris terror attacks, to start with.
Anne Hidalgo is very good with words, you know. And she is also a great judge on the matter of peace-seekers, word-wide.
As it happened, just seven weeks prior to the Paris carnage, Mme Hidalgo was busy with receiving a very special and honourable for her guest in her residency of the Mayor of Paris.
The official ceremony was reported nicely in Le Figaro on September 21th, 2015. And there was a wonderful little photo album published by the French media from the occasion.
Be my guests for some quotes in both genres:
The Figaro report on the ceremony:
“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was awarded today at the City Hall of Paris with the Grand Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris by the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (PS), in recognition of his work for peace. “Because you are a man of peace, I am pleased to present you with this medal of the City of Paris,” said Anne Hidalgo, during the ceremony at City Hall. The socialist mayor of the capital welcomed a “man of exceptional state”. “You never had any purpose other than peace, and you have never used other way than the international legality”, she has said. “Paris is your ally,” said Anne Hidalgo”.
It is so hilarious that one left speechless and slightly hysterical, too – very much like good old Commissar Dreifuss in the eternal Pink Panther in the episode when he was made read eulogy over the empty bier of immortal detective Clouseau.
And by the way, receiving of Grand Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris also means that serial terrorist Mahmoud Abbas has become – was made by Mayor of Paris – honorary citizen of Paris.
Poor Paris.
November 2015
Dr Inna Rogatchi is writer, scholar, political analyst and president of The Rogatchi Foundation ( www.rogatchi.org)