Daniel Bernard (13 September 1941;

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

– 29 April 2004;

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a French

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

who served as the

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. He is remembered for a controversial remark about Israel.

Controversial remark

Reported remark

In 2001, Daniel Bernard came to public attention when, as French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, he was quoted as saying: "All the current troubles in the world are because of that shitty little country,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

." The diplomat added, "Why should the world be in danger of

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...

because of those people?" The remark was reported to have taken place during a conversation with

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canadi ...

of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' at a private dinner party Black was hosting. Bernard's comment was then later repeated in an article written by Black's wife,

Barbara Amiel Barbara Joan Estelle Amiel, Baroness Black of Crossharbour, DSS (born 4 December 1940), is a British-Canadian conservative journalist, writer, and socialite. She is married to former media proprietor Conrad Black. Early life and career Amiel wa ...

, in ''The Daily Telegraph''. Initially, Bernard stated that he could not remember making it, but later insisted that what he said had been thoroughly distorted. Bernard's press secretary stated, "He does not deny the remarks, he just says first of all what he said was distorted." He also stated that he was outraged that a private discussion was reported by the media and clearly stated that he would not apologise.'Anti-Semitic' French envoy under fire
BBC, December 20, 2001. Bernard's spokesman, Yves Charpentier, stated that Bernard felt there was no need for him to apologize. He stated that "In the course of the discussion the ambassador referred to 'little Israel' in the sense that it is geographically small, but that nevertheless the scale of the consequences is huge and the repercussions around the world are tremendous."

Bernard's response

In a subsequent letter to ''The Daily Telegraph'', Bernard insisted his remarks had been distorted, writing that:

'Over the past few days, I have been the subject of grave accusations because of a comment I am reported to have made during a conversation with Lord Black. The facts are: while we were discussing the Israeli-Palestinian issue, I pointed out to Lord Black that this tragedy was taking place in a geographically limited area (I even specified that it was the equivalent of three
French departments In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...
) that for 40 years had been suffering from a conflict whose equitable solution seems more out of reach than ever. Of course, I never meant to insult Israel or any other part of that region. The deliberately biased presentation of this conversation in some circles, accompanied by malicious accusations, is deeply shocking and insulting.'

Reaction

The British press saw a firestorm as a result, as comment on the 23 December 2001 in ''The Daily Telegraph'' exemplifies. One British journalist,

Deborah Orr Deborah Jane Orr (23 September 1962 – 19 October 2019) was a British journalist who worked for ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'' and other publications. Early life and education Orr was born on 23 September 1962 to Winifred "Win" and John ...

did defend Bernard. British Labour MPs

Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Re ...

and

Gwyneth Dunwoody Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (née Phillips; 12 December 1930 – 17 April 2008) was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe (later Crewe and Nantwich) from February 1 ...

wrote to French President Jacques Chirac that asking that Bernard either resign or be removed from his position. Murphy stated that "If these are his views, then the French government should take action. Such views are simply not consistent with the post he holds" while Dunwoody stated that "These comments are eerily familiar from the French. He should resign immediately and I'm writing to President Chirac to demand that if he does not resign, then he should be sacked."Israel seeks head of French envoy
by Ewen MacAskill, ''Guardian UK'', December 20, 2001. In

, the remark sparked outrage, with

Raanan Gissin Raanan Gissin (born 1949) is an Israeli political scientist, analyst and consultant specializing in the Arab–Israeli conflict. He was senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and a frequent spokesman for the Israeli government on C ...

, spokesman for

Israeli Prime Minister The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exe ...

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

calling Bernard's statement "a pure anti-Semitic expression" and further stating that the French Government "should draw the conclusions of a senior representative of a nation making an anti-Semitic remark". Gissin also stated that "If the French government does not take action, it would imply that the French government condones it and I think that would be inconceivable." In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

stated that "It is highly troubling that a French government official would make such crude anti-Israel statements" and called for the

French Foreign Ministry The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Qu ...

to investigate Bernard's remarks.ADL Asks French Foreign Ministry to Investigate Envoy's Derogatory Comments About Israel
, Anti-Defamation League (ADL) - Letter to the Foreign Minister of France, December 21, 2001. The

defended Bernard and dismissed the charges of anti-Semitism. A Ministry spokesman stated that "These malevolent insinuations have been addressed very clearly by our ambassador in London and I suggest you refer back to that." The French Press was also largely supportive of Bernard, while recognising that Bernard was a flamboyant character (Le Monde 2 May 2004)

His obituary in Le Monde in 2004 also illustrates the same points. Bernard was reassigned to become France's ambassador to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in July 2002. He died in April 2004 while serving in that post, at the age of 62.

References

External links

* Warren Hoge.
Embassy Row Scandal Consumes Fleet Street"
''New York Times'', December 22, 2001.

() {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Daniel 1941 births 2004 deaths HEC Paris alumni Ambassadors of France to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of France to Algeria Diplomats from Lyon