French TV censors actress Adele Haenel after she condemns Israel’s genocide in Palestine - Middle East Eye

French activist and actress Adele Haenel faced censorship on French television after condemning the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

During an appearance on the French channel France 5, Haenel also accused France of being “complicit” in the genocide and called for sanctions against Israel.

Following her comments, the channel's parent company, France Televisions, removed the programme from its replay service.

On Wednesday, 9 September, Haenel appeared on the programme to discuss her first book, which addresses violence against children and the sexual abuse she suffered as a minor at the hands of director Christophe Ruggia.

A court convicted Ruggia in April of sexually assaulting her, in a case that drew national attention in the country.

The programme’s format encourages debate and allows invited guests to express themselves freely.

Reading a text to the live audience, Haenel spoke about the silence that often stifles victims of sexist and sexual violence.

She then drew a parallel with the genocide in Gaza which has seen Palestinians face rape, sexual assault and abuse by Israeli soldiers. 

“The State of Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, and France is complicit. Don't accept the unacceptable; sanction Israel and liberate Palestine," she said in her concluding remarks.

The studio audience applauded Haenel’s speech, but Israel's supporters and censors at the channel felt otherwise.

On 10 September, following complaints from pro-Israeli and far-right groups, France Televisions removed the programme from its website.

Haenel later said that she “did not submit the text as I recited it, because I was certain that this text would not pass".

“Before the show, I rehearsed the alternative script I had sent them, which was also on the teleprompter. I repeated it aloud twice in a row, while the technical and production team was present in the room, and no one said anything.

"Furthermore, I had given the script to the show's producer that same morning, and she hadn't commented,” she explained.

The version she submitted ended with: "What is happening in Palestine is genocide. Don't accept the unacceptable, don't let collective silence close in on Palestine."

Haenel later explained to French media why her intervention had provoked such a reaction. Middle East Eye is publishing her comments in full:

“The difference between my two texts (the one sent to the production team and the one spoken live, editor's note) is that the second one has a subject in the sentence. It says who is committing the genocide, and that difference makes all the difference.

“As long as there is no subject in the sentence, a genocide appears as an inevitable reality, a crime without a perpetrator. On the other hand, saying ‘the State of Israel is committing genocide’ points to this State as responsible for this ongoing crime against humanity.

“Reinstating the subject of the sentence forces governments - in this case, the French government - to confront their political choices: in particular, the choice not to do everything in their power to put an end to this crime against humanity, but even more so, the choice to collaborate in the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli army by selling it weapons.

“Constructing a media image of the Palestinian population as responsible for what is happening to them allows them to imagine they have clean hands, and this is partly why there is a pro-Israeli monologue on television.

"I think that this need for them to portray themselves as being on the right side of history while being up to their necks in a crime against humanity partly explains the media backlash that followed my intervention.”