Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) will urge French President Francois Hollande to place Hezbollah on the European Union’s official list of terror organizations, when he meets him on Thursday in Paris.
Lauder is currently in the French capital where he is leading a delegation of American Jewish leaders.
Lauder’s scheduled meeting with Hollande, to receive the Officer of the Legion of Honor, will come just two days after the Bulgarian government published a report implicating Hezbollah for the July 18, 2012 bombing attack on a tour bus carrying Israelis in Burgas, Bulgaria which killed five Israelis, a Bulgarian bus driver, and the bomber.
Lauder will tell President Hollande to support the EU designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization at the European Summit which is to take place in Brussels at the end of this week.
If approved, the EU could then freeze Hezbollah's assets in Europe.
Unanimity of the 27 EU member states is needed to put an organization on the EU list of terror groups.
Because its historic links with Lebanon, France has been the main European country opposing the designation of Hezbollah as a terror organization.
Britain, the Netherlands, and several other major European countries support the move.
“We know that the French government has until now been reluctant to back other European countries with respect to Hezbollah. But Burgas has shown that Islamist terrorism is not just happening in Mali, it is not just happening in the Middle East, it is also happening right here in Europe, and it must be stopped,” said Lauder referring to the Bulgarian government report.
“The European Union must stop dithering and treat Iran and Hezbollah for what they are: leading sponsors of international terrorism and a big threat to peace and the well-being of all citizens.”
Lauder will also remind President Hollande that Hezbollah and its patron Iran, have been behind numerous acts of terror in the past, including attacks well beyond the Middle East. Hezbollah is considered responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29, wounded hundreds and the 1994 bombing of the city’s main Jewish community center that killed 85 and also left hundreds wounded.
He will argue that now that Hezbollah has struck inside Europe, European leaders must take action.
Ronald Lauder has long been a proponent of tough action against Iran. Last week he criticized the U.S. administration for its Iran policy, arguing against Vice President Joe Biden’s comment that Washington might hold direct talks with Tehran over the Iranian nuclear program.
“This would only serve to buy more time for Iran to realize its nuclear weapons ambitions. Tehran has shunned countless opportunities for negotiations, or turned them into public relations stunts. The threat Iran poses to the world has become bigger, not smaller in recent years,” Lauder said.
Lauder urged the United States and the European Union to set clear deadlines for Iran to comply with international demands. “The diplomatic process has been dragging on for years now, and it has not yielded any tangible results yet. Frankly, it is just not good enough for the West to continue meaningless talks with that regime.”