From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Municipality nixes Jerusalem deputy mayor’s call to cancel French consulate’s trash collection
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
After the French government asks for a ban on Israeli companies from the Eurosatory 2024 defense trade show, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King asks the municipality to cease waste collection from the French consulate in Jerusalem.
“In light of the treacherous and anti-Israel conduct of Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron, the president of France who passed resolutions in his government whose purpose and aim is to harm the State of Israel and Israeli industry,” the far-right King writes to the city’s sanitation department, “I ask you to order the employees of the Jerusalem Municipality’s sanitation department to immediately stop the garbage removal service from the French Consulate building on Paul-Emile Botta Street.”
He also asks that the municipality not trim the grass on the sidewalk in front of the consulate.
The Jerusalem Municipality rejects King’s request, telling The Times of Israel that the city “clears waste from all parts of the city based on professional considerations, and offers optimal services to all its residents.”
A French diplomatic source tells The Times of Israel that they have not received any notifications from the municipality on the matter. “We know that the professionalism of the municipal services responsible for waste collection can be trusted, and we value their dedication to public health,” says the official.
The official also underscores “the importance of the international obligations that Israel has assumed in ensuring the security and proper functioning of the diplomatic missions.”
The ban on Israeli companies was struck down by a Paris court earlier today.
