Peres to visit Paris Book Fair

There have been calls by a number of Arab countries, including Tunisia and Egypt, to boycott the fair for its decision to honor Israel.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, JTA
shimon peres 88 224 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
shimon peres 88 224
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
President Shimon Peres will on Thursday inaugurate the Paris Book Fair, which this year honors Israel's literary giants on the country's 60th anniversary. There have been calls by a number of Arab countries, including Tunisia and Egypt, to boycott the fair for its decision to honor Israel. The Turin Book Fair, which also honored Israel this year, faced similar threats. While Italian writers have defended the Turin fair, saying that Israeli writers do not represent the Israeli government, French writers have remained silent about the call for a boycott in Paris. Some 39 Israeli writers are scheduled to attend the Paris Book Fair, including three Israeli-Arab writers. After meeting Monday with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace, Peres dined with Sarkozy and his wife, model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, as well as Israeli model Bar Refael. According to a report in Yediot Aharonot, Bruni-Sarkozy refrained from drinking wine at the dinner, fueling speculation that she was pregnant. Sarkozy married Bruni on February 2. Peres also joined Jewish community leaders in a memorial ceremony for the eight yeshiva students killed in Jerusalem at Paris's main synagogue, Synagogue de la Victoire.