YOUNG ISRAEL CALLS ON FRENCH PRESIDENT TO INTERVENE

YOUNG ISRAEL CALLS ON FRENCH PRESIDENT TO INTERVENE AFTER
"PERVERSION OF JUSTICE" IN DEFAMATION CASE
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) today sent a letter to the French Ambassador to
the United States and requested that French President François Hollande intervene following the
conviction of Philippe Karsenty by the Paris Court of Appeals in a defamation case that was
initiated by France-2, a state television network.
The court found that Mr. Karsenty was guilty of defamation for asserting that France-2 altered a
video that was part of a story by reporter Charles Enderlin, which showed footage of a 12-yearold Palestinian Arab boy huddled together with his father in Gaza during a military conflict in
the area in 2000. The video suggested that the boy was killed during the firefight by Israeli
forces. After an extensive analysis and thorough investigation of what actually occurred, Mr.
Karsenty publically proclaimed in 2004 that there was no evidence that the boy had been killed,
and he maintained that the video was in fact a hoax. In fact, the Israeli government recently
issued an official report, which concluded that the France-2 report presented a distorted view of
what actually transpired that day, and determined that the boy was not hit by Israeli gunfire, as
was reported by Mr. Enderlin.
In its letter to Ambassador François Delattre, which was written in French, the National Council
of Young Israel called on President Hollande and the French Parliament to act in the wake of this
shocking decision.
"We cannot comprehend how or why the court saw fit to rule that Mr. Karsenty was guilty of
defamation, especially in light of the fact that detailed investigations into the heart of this matter
prove that his claims against France-2 were valid and just," wrote NCYI President Farley
Weiss, Chairman of the Board Robert Levi, and 1st Vice President Yosef Poplack. "We
condemn this outrageous decision, which we believe to be a perversion of justice. The ruling
does a tremendous disservice by further perpetuating a myth that has already negatively
impacted the tenuous situation in the Middle East."
"We call on President François Hollande and the French Parliament to institute a new law which
would require that in the event a defamation suit is commenced that relates to video footage, the
full unedited version of the video must be incorporated into the evidence that is presented to the
court as part of the legal proceeding," continued the letter. "Had there been such a law in place
during Mr. Karsenty's trial, he would have been vindicated."
"We urge President Hollande to publically declare that despite the court's verdict, Mr. Karsenty's
account of what occurred was entirely accurate and that the evidence proves that Mohammed alDura was not killed by Israel," wrote the National Council of Young Israel. "Absent some public
comment by the French government, this decision is merely a continued propagation of a
malicious lie against both Israel and the Jewish people."
The following is the full text of the National Council of Young Israel's letter to the French
Ambassador (the English translation is followed by the French version):
June 28, 2013
His Excellency François Delattre
The Ambassador of France
4101 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington D.C. 20007
Dear Ambassador Delattre:
On behalf of the National Council of Young Israel’s 25,000 member families and nearly 200
branch synagogues throughout the United States, Canada, and Israel, we are writing to express
our deep disappointment in the Paris Court of Appeals' recent decision concerning the case of
Philippe Karsenty.
The court ruled that Mr. Karsenty was guilty of defamation for asserting that France-2, a state
television network, altered a video that was part of a story by reporter Charles Enderlin, which
showed footage of a 12-year-old Palestinian Arab boy huddled together with his father in Gaza
during a military conflict in the area in 2000. The video suggested that the boy was killed during
the firefight by Israeli forces.
After an extensive analysis and thorough investigation of what actually occurred, Mr. Karsenty
publically proclaimed in 2004 that there was no evidence that the boy had been killed, and he
maintained that the video was in fact a hoax. That led to the initiation of the defamation suit.
We believe that it is important to note the procedural history of this case. Although Mr. Karsenty
was initially convicted in 2006, the Paris Court of Appeals overturned the verdict. The French
Supreme Court overturned the appeals court verdict last year, and declared that the court erred
when it ruled that France-2 had to present the entire unedited video of the incident, which clearly
shows that Mohammed al-Dura was not killed by Israeli bullets. It was the Supreme Court's
ruling that led to the case being reheard by the appeals court.
We are sure you are aware of the fact that the Israeli government recently issued an official
report, which concluded that the France-2 report presented a distorted view of what actually
transpired that day, and determined that the boy was not hit by Israeli gunfire, as was reported by
Mr. Enderlin.
Unfortunately, this infamous video spurred a strong anti-Israel sentiment in the international
community and in the media, by wrongfully stating that Israeli armed forces were responsible for
the death of Mohammed al-Dura. The footage has already been used to instigate terrorists to
murder Jews in different parts of the world.
We cannot comprehend how or why the court saw fit to rule that Mr. Karsenty was guilty of
defamation, especially in light of the fact that detailed investigations into the heart of this matter
prove that his claims against France-2 were valid and just.
We call on President François Hollande and the French Parliament to institute a new law which
would require that in the event a defamation suit is commenced that relates to video footage, the
full unedited version of the video must be incorporated into the evidence that is presented to the
court as part of the legal proceeding. Had there been such a law in place during Mr. Karsenty's
trial, he would have been vindicated.
We condemn this outrageous decision, which we believe to be a perversion of justice. The ruling
does a tremendous disservice by further perpetuating a myth that has already negatively
impacted the tenuous situation in the Middle East.
The French court defamed Israel in its decision and set a dangerous precedent that one can hide
evidence that proves the accuracy of the allegation and sue for defamation. This deters freedom
of expression and the search for truth. We hope that this outrageous decision gets reversed so
that justice can ultimately prevail.
We urge President Hollande to publically declare that despite the court's verdict, Mr. Karsenty's
account of what occurred was entirely accurate and that the evidence proves that Mohammed alDura was not killed by Israel. Absent some public comment by the French government, this
decision is merely a continued propagation of a malicious lie against both Israel and the Jewish
people.
Very truly yours,
Farley Weiss, President
Robert Levi, Chairman of the Board
Yosef Poplack, 1st Vice President
-------------------------------------------------Vendredi 28 juin 2013
Son Excellence François Delattre
Ambassadeur de France
4101 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington D.C. 20007
Cher Ambassadeur Delattre:
Au nom des 25,000 familles et près de 200 synagogues établies aux Etats-Unis, Canada et Israël
représentées par le Conseil National de la Jeunesse d’Israël, le National Council of Young Israël,
nous vous écrivons pour vous exprimer notre profonde déception envers la décision récemment
prise par la Cour d’Appel de Paris concernant le cas de Philippe Karsenty.
La Cour d’Appel a déclaré Mr. Karsenty coupable de diffamation pour son affirmation que
France-2, chaine de télévision nationale, avait altéré une vidéo utilisée dans un reportage du
journaliste Charles Enderlin, qui montre l’image d’un jeune garçon Arabe Palestinien de 12 ans
refugié avec son père au sein de Gaza pendant le conflit militaire de 2000. La vidéo suggère que
le garçon est tué pendant l’échange de coups de feu par les forces Israéliennes.
Apres une analyse extensive, ainsi qu’une investigation rigoureuse des faits, Mr. Karsenty a
proclamé publiquement en 2004 qu’il n’y avait aucune preuve que le garçon ait bien été tué et a
maintenu que la vidéo était en réalité un canular, ce qui a conduit à sa poursuite en diffamation.
Nous trouvons l’histoire procédurale de ce cas intéressante. Bien que Mr. Karsenty ait
initialement été reconnu coupable en 2006, la Cour d’Appel de Paris avait casse le verdict. La
Court Suprême Française a rejeté le verdict de la Cour l’année dernière et a déclaré que la Cour
avait fait une erreur en établissant que France-2 aurait du présenter l’entière vidéo, sans
correction, ce qui aurait clairement montré que Mohammed al-Dura n’a pas été tué par les balles
Israéliennes. C’est donc la sentence de la Cour Suprême qui a ramené le cas à la Cour d’Appel.
Nous sommes surs que vous êtes conscient du fait que le gouvernement Israélien a récemment
publié un rapport officiel qui conclut que France-2 a présenté une vue déformée de qui s’est
vraiment passe le jour ou la vidéo a été filmée, et détermine que le garçon n’a pas été atteint par
les balles Israéliennes, contrairement a ce qu’implique le reportage de Mr. Enderlin.
Malheureusement, cette tristement célèbre vidéo a incité un profond sentiment anti-Israël au sein
de la communauté internationale et des medias en affirmant injustement que les forces armées
Israéliennes étaient responsables de la mort de Mohammed al-Dura. Les images ont déjà été
utilisées pour encourager des terroristes à travers le monde d’assassiner des membres de la
population Juive.
Nous ne pouvons pas comprendre comment ou pourquoi la Cour a pu juger bon de déclarer Mr.
Karsenty coupable de diffamation, surtout a la lumière des enquêtes rigoureuses qui ont été au
fond des faits et ont prouvé que les déclarations de Mr. Karsenty contre France-2 étaient en fait
correctes et justes.
Nous appelons le Président François Hollande et le Parlement Français à instituer une nouvelle
loi qui exigerait que, dans l’événement d’un procès de diffamation lié à des images vidéo, la
version complète et non corrigée de la vidéo doive être incorporée aux preuves présentées à la
Cour en tant que part du procédé légal et juridique. Si une telle loi avait été en place au moment
du procès de Mr. Karsenty, il aurait été disculpé.
Nous condamnons la décision outrageuse de la Cour, que nous pensons être une perversion de la
justice. Cette sentence perpétue un mythe qui a déjà eu un impact des plus négatifs sur la
situation délicate au Moyen-Orient.
La Cour Française a diffamé Israël dans sa décision et a établi un précédent dangereux de
dissimulation de preuve fondamentale pour l’affirmation de l’exactitude d’une allégation et d’un
procès pour diffamation, posant obstacle à la liberté d’expression et la recherche de la vérité.
Nous espérons que cette décision outrageuse sera renversée pour que la justice puisse ultimement
triompher.
Nous exhortons Président Hollande à déclarer publiquement qu’en dépit du verdict de la Cour, la
version des faits de Mr. Karsenty était entièrement correcte et que tout indique que Mohammed
al-Dura n’a pas été tue par Israël. En l’absence d’un commentaire publique du gouvernement
Français, cette sentence ne serait que la continuation de la propagation d’un mensonge
malveillant contre à la fois Israël et le peuple Juif.
Sincèrement vôtres,
Farley Weiss, President
Robert Levi, Chairman of the Board
Yosef Poplack, 1st Vice President