From ‘Irresponsible' to ‘Immoral': The Shifts in de Gaulle's Perception of Israel and the Jews

Abstract

This article reviews the changes that took place in de Gaulle’s perception of Israel. It illustrates that the traditional interpretations in the literature are not precise. It identifies three distinct phases: A. Until the mid-1960s, de Gaulle valued the Jewish state and regarded it as balanced and moderate. B. Between 1963 and 1967, de Gaulle started to think of Israel as acting irresponsibly and contributing to the instability in the Middle East as a result of Israel’s retaliation policy. C. After the Six Day War, an additional shift occurred in the way de Gaulle saw Israel. He began to regard the country as imperialistic and amoral. He implied on more than one occasion that he attributed this to the ‘Jewish’ qualities of the Israeli nation.