One incident, somewhere between inconsequential and serious, gave the presidential visit by France's Francois Hollande the media luster it had been lacking. Until then, everything had gone according to plan. France announced that Hollande would arrive in Israel on Nov. 17 for an official state visit, and Israel announced it would gladly welcome him. Things then took an embarrassing turn.
Hollande, who was supposed to be received at the Knesset, canceled his planned speech. In response, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein announced plans for a counter-boycott and scrapping the official welcoming ceremony for the French president. The French media flew into a tizzy. At the National Assembly, representatives spoke of a crisis in ties between the two countries, pundits discussed the president’s entanglement and the heads of the Jewish community felt hurt and degraded by the French move and the Israeli response.
