February 1, 2013

(JTA) — Former French president Nicolas Sarzkozy told a Jewish crowd in Geneva that Israel should be pressured to make concessions to the Palestinians.

In his Jan. 24 address in the Swiss city, Sarkozy told  a dinner organized by the Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal that Israel’s government has “enclosed” the Jewish state behind “the ramparts of Jericho,” according to a Jan. 30 report in Le Nouvel Observateur.

Sarkozy – who reportedly arrived suffering from a cold, a bad temper and a bad shave – ended his address after 45 minutes and left his 450-odd listeners unceremoniously, the report said. 

The newsweekly reported conflicting accounts regarding Sarkozy’s fee and who had paid it. It said, unattributed, that he Lily Safra, the Monaco-based philantrhopist, paid him 150,000 Euros ($204,000), but also quoted sources close to Sarkozy as disputing that sum.

Joe Tugendhaft, the president of Keren Hayesod in the French-speaking parts of Switzerland, said Lily Safra was not involved, claining that five philantrhopists had paid Sarkozy for his appearance. 

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