Paris – Paris Beach Event Honors Tel Aviv, Amid Extra Security

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    French Police officer arrives at the Paris Tel Aviv Beach on the banks of the Seine river,  in Paris, France, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015.  (AP Photo/Francois Mori)Paris – Paris on Thursday deployed hundreds of extra police to protect an urban beach event honoring Tel Aviv, after it turned from a summertime celebration into a geopolitical hot potato.

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    Leftist politicians and pro-Palestinian activists wanted it canceled amid anger over a Jewish extremist attack in the West Bank. But Paris city hall stood firm.

    City authorities said extra police were deployed for the one-day event on the banks of the Seine River. It’s part of a larger summer event called Paris Plages that transforms quayside city streets into beaches.

    Eytan Schwartz, an official from the Tel Aviv city hall who attended the event, expressed satisfaction that Paris authorities withstood pressure to cancel the event.

    “We are very happy that the city of Paris, when this controversy erupted, was very clear that they would not give in to extremists or radicals of any sort,” Schwartz said.

    Opponents put together a rival “Gaza Plage” event on the other side of a bridge overpass Thursday, complete with Palestinian flags.

    Olivia Zemor, the head of a pro-Palestinian association, said the rival event was organized “to explain to the people — in a peaceful way with our banners, leaflets, photos — the real face of occupation, what the Palestinians who are walled up are going through.”

    Paris remains on alert after Islamic extremist attacks in January. Unrest in the Mideast sometimes translates into tensions in France, home to large Muslim and Jewish populations.Paris on Thursday deployed hundreds of extra police to protect an urban beach event honoring Tel Aviv, after it turned from a summertime celebration into a geopolitical hot potato.

    Leftist politicians and pro-Palestinian activists wanted it canceled amid anger over a Jewish extremist attack in the West Bank. But Paris city hall stood firm.

    City authorities said extra police were deployed for the one-day event on the banks of the Seine River. It’s part of a larger summer event called Paris Plages that transforms quayside city streets into beaches.

    Eytan Schwartz, an official from the Tel Aviv city hall who attended the event, expressed satisfaction that Paris authorities withstood pressure to cancel the event.

    “We are very happy that the city of Paris, when this controversy erupted, was very clear that they would not give in to extremists or radicals of any sort,” Schwartz said.

    Opponents put together a rival “Gaza Plage” event on the other side of a bridge overpass Thursday, complete with Palestinian flags.

    Olivia Zemor, the head of a pro-Palestinian association, said the rival event was organized “to explain to the people — in a peaceful way with our banners, leaflets, photos — the real face of occupation, what the Palestinians who are walled up are going through.”

    Paris remains on alert after Islamic extremist attacks in January. Unrest in the Mideast sometimes translates into tensions in France, home to large Muslim and Jewish populations.
    A French policeman checks a visitor as he works at a security check-point at "Paris Plages" in Paris, France, August 13, 2015. Paris' decision to celebrate Tel Aviv on Thursday in its annual beach-on-the-Seine festival has sparked much controversy, with leftist critics branding the event as "indecent" following the death of a baby killed in an arson attack in the West Bank. REUTERS/Pascal Rossigno
    Banners with the messages, "Gaza: Let the Boats Pass" and "Gaza Plage" are seen near beach umbrellas along the artificial sand beach at the "Paris Plages" event, in Paris, France, August 13, 2015. REUTERS


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    albroker
    albroker
    8 years ago

    cant wait till Notre Dame becomes a mosque.