January 21, 2011 – Paris – A high-level AJC delegation concluded today a visit to Paris, highlighted by a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. 

"President Sarkozy is a respected statesman with a vision for Europe and the world based on democratic values and liberty.  We appreciated this precious opportunity to deepen our dialogue with the French leader," said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

Dating back to his days as Minister of the Interior, where he demonstrated staunch commitment to the struggle against anti-Semitism in France, AJC has maintained a close relationship with Sarkozy. 

"I don't change my convictions easily, just as I don't change my friends, easily and my door will always be open to AJC," President Sarkozy told the delegation.

At the meeting at the Elysée Palace, Harris praised Sarkozy for his vigorous efforts to counter the nuclear ambitions of the Iranian regime, to further strengthen the transatlantic partnership, and to demonstrate support for Israel, in the president’s words, "as the nation-state of the Jewish people, in the context of a negotiated peace accord."

The hour-long conversation covered several pressing topics of mutual interest, including recent developments in Lebanon and Tunisia, the Arab-Israeli peace process, and challenges faced by European countries regarding immigration, integration and identity.

AJC's decades-long relationship with France began shortly after the Second World War, when an office was established in Paris.  Today, AJC France is headed by Simone Rodan-Benzaquen.

In 2007, AJC conferred its highest honor for statesmen, the "Light Unto the Nations" Award, on Sarkozy.  President Sarkozy was the second recipient of the award, which st yesterday was bestowed upon German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a ceremony in Berlin.

The AJC delegation began their trip on Wednesday in Berlin, where they met with the Chancellor, Federal President Wulff, Defense Minister zu Guttenberg, Economics Minister Brüderle, and the American and Israeli Ambassadors, as well as former Foreign Ministers Fischer and Steinmeier.  In Paris, the group also met with leaders of the governing UMP and opposition Socialist parties, the mayor Paris, and CRIF, the French-Jewish umbrella body.