De Villepin Ridiculise Caroline Dayan, close support of the Netanyahu war criminal

Hearing Tuesday April 9 by the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, Dominique de Villepin delivered a scathing response of rare elegance in the face of an attempted personal attack formulated by deputy Caroline Dayan, close support for the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.

The former minister evoked, in a serene but firm tone, the importance of the worthy and enlightened debate, faced with “rumors intended to discredit a free word”. The Mayan deputy had indeed questioned Villepin on an alleged proximity to Qatar, ininating a conflict of interest in her positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A question read laboriously, more concerned with the effect of accusation than by the search for truth.

Dominique de Villepin’s response was masterful: “I cannot thank you too much for asking me this question”he started, before removing calmly, point by point, insinuations. “I have no connection with any Qatari funds and I never had one”he said, reaffirming his unlike without detour. But the former head of government did not stay there. In a brilliant reversal, he returned the attack to highlight the troubled links between the entourage of the Israeli Prime Minister and certain funding from Qatar, evoking the current investigation within the framework of the “Qatargate” which is currently agitating the Israeli political scene. “Benjamin Netanyahu was heard for two hours by the Lav 433 unit, the Israeli FBI equivalent”recalled from Villepin. And to seriously point out the pressures exerted on the chief of the Shin Bet, in full investigation.

More than a simple development, this intervention by Dominique de Villepin was a recall of the fundamental role of independent speech in the international debate, and a frontal refusal of the dangerous amalgams which aim to delegitimize any criticism of Israeli politics by assimilating it to a racist hatred. “Those who want to silence dissident votes on the pretext of slander take a heavy responsibility”he hinted. In a clear, firm and deeply republican tirade, Dominique de Villepin opposed intelligence to suspicion, humanism to the rhetoric of suspicion and partisan excess. A lesson in political dignity.