Paris Air Show organizers wall off booths of Israeli arms companies

PARIS — The Paris Air Show began with a tense political note on Monday, as Israeli arms companies found their booths walled off with a black barrier in the morning.

The Israeli government, embroiled in a war with Iran since Friday, has been criticized by officials here for the conduct of the Gaza war.

It was apparently along those critiques that an order came down Sunday evening from show organizer SIAE, at the behest of the French government, to leave certain weapon systems off the display.

The walls, more than two meters high, concealed the entirety of the booth areas of Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems, allowing only tips of large missiles and a drone hung under the ceiling to be visible to passers-by.

A representative of the Israeli Ministry of Defense at the agency’s nearby booth said the Israeli exhibitors were told early last evening to take down “some” equipment within hours.

In the official’s telling, there was no time to remove parts of the installations because the lifting and packing equipment was already gone for the day. It was then that Paris Air Show organizers built the walls overnight, the Israeli official said.

U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Alabama) stumbled upon the scene to express her solidarity with the Israeli officials present.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that Israel cannot come to an air show where your are credentialed and screened and whatnot,” she told Defense News.

The story quickly developed a life of its own, as Britt was under the impression that there had been graffiti sprayed on the Israeli booth, or that the display had been otherwise vandalized.

According to the Israeli representative here, this had not occurred.

Nine Israeli defense companies were slated to exhibit at the Paris Air Show this year, including Israel Aerospace Industries, Elbit Systems, Rafael, UVision Air, and other companies whose weapons are used by the Israeli Defense Forces in the ongoing Israel-Gaza war and in its military conflict with Iran.

In a statement, the Israeli Defense Ministry called the French “outrageous and unprecedented,” lamenting a “decision that reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations.”

Israeli officials were mainly referring to the missile sector, in which France competes with it, and which is gaining increasing interest in light of rising global geopolitical tensions and the use of Israeli defense systems in current conflicts.

There is still chance that French and Israeli officials can sort out the situation.

“The SIAE complied with an instruction from the relevant French authorities prior to the opening of the Show, regarding the removal of certain equipment displayed on Israeli stands,” reads a statement by the show organizer.

“The companies in question are nonetheless authorized to exhibit at the Show. Dialogue is underway so that the various parties can find a favorable outcome to the situation.”

Tzally Greenberg reported from Jerusalem. Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this story.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

Tzally Greenberg is the Israel correspondent for Defense News. He has experience reporting on economic affairs as well as defense and cyber companies.

巴黎——周一，巴黎航展在紧张的政治氛围中拉开帷幕，以色列军火公司发现他们的展位在早上被黑色屏障围了起来。

自上周五以来一直与伊朗陷入战争的以色列政府，因其在加沙战争中的行为而受到当地官员的批评。

显然，正是由于这些批评，周日晚上，展会组织方 SIAE 应法国政府的要求下达了一项命令，要求将某些武器系统从展览中移除。

两米多高的墙壁遮蔽了以色列航空航天工业公司和埃尔比特系统公司的整个展位区域，只有大型导弹的尖端和悬挂在天花板下的无人机才能被路人看到。

以色列国防部在附近展位的一名代表表示，以色列参展商昨晚早些时候被告知要在几个小时内拆除“一些”设备。

据这位官员透露，由于起重和包装设备当天已经撤走，所以没有时间拆除部分设施。这位以色列官员表示，巴黎航展的组织者随后连夜搭建了围墙。

美国参议员凯蒂·布里特（阿拉巴马州共和党籍）偶然路过现场，表达了她对在场以色列官员的支持。

她告诉《防务新闻》：“以色列人不能参加航展，而航展需要进行资格审查等等，这是绝对不可接受的。”

故事很快发展出了自己的故事，因为布里特认为以色列展位上被人喷涂了涂鸦，或者展品遭到了其他形式的破坏。

据以色列驻当地代表称，此事并未发生。

今年，包括以色列航空航天工业公司、埃尔比特系统公司、拉斐尔公司、UVision Air公司在内的九家以色列国防公司计划参加巴黎航展，这些公司的武器被以色列国防军用于正在进行的以加战争以及与伊朗的军事冲突中。

以色列国防部在一份声明中称法国的做法“令人愤慨，史无前例”，并感叹这一“决定充满了政策驱动和商业考量”。

以色列官员主要指的是导弹领域，法国在该领域与以色列存在竞争关系，鉴于全球地缘政治紧张局势加剧以及以色列防御系统在当前冲突中的使用，该领域正受到越来越多的关注。

法国和以色列官员仍有可能解决这一局面。

展会组织方在一份声明中表示：“在展会开幕前，SIAE 遵照法国相关部门的指示，拆除了以色列展台上展示的某些设备。”

“尽管如此，涉事公司仍获准参展。各方正在进行对话，以期找到一个对各方都有利的解决方案。”

特扎利·格林伯格从耶路撒冷报道。鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格在巴黎也对本文有所贡献。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。

特扎利·格林伯格是《防务新闻》的以色列记者。他拥有丰富的经济事务以及国防和网络安全公司报道经验。