A historical error about the founding of Israel, made by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is being called out in blunt terms by Prime Minister Netanyahu, in an astonishing exchange in public.

 It began during a weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday at Paris , where Mr. Macron said that “Mr Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN.” It was an inaccurate and insulting remark, made in the context of the French leader’s faltering over the war against Hezbollah.

The French are finding out that the Israelis, Prime Minister Netanyahu included, are generally loath to be lectured. In an interview published Wednesday in Le Figaro, Mr. Netanyahu defended his positions and heaped scorn on Mr. Macron over his remark, widely seen as inaccurate and condescending.  

In the interview Mr. Netanyahu defended his country’s defense  against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The premier is the son of an eminent historian, Benzion Netanyahu. Benjamin Netanyahu castigated Monsieur Macron’s remarks, which he considered to be “a sign of historical ignorance and lack of respect.” He also called on France to “change its policy” with regard to Israel.

“To say that the UN created the State of Israel is a distressing distortion of history,” the Israeli premier told the venerable French newspaper. “The UN recognized the right of the Jewish people to a state, but it certainly did not create it,” he said, noting that “the Jewish people have been attached to the land of Israel for 3,500 years.”

He added that “the modern State of Israel was created by the sacrifice of the courageous fighters of its war of independence — among them, many survivors of the Holocaust and the Vichy regime —  who were able to resist the offensive of five Arab states who had not accepted the plan to partition Mandatory Palestine by the UN.”

In the meantime the French minister of foreign affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, has tried to walk back Monsieur Macron’s faux pas. He told reporters that the president’s words “were part of a general statement recalling the importance for Israel as for all of us to respect the charter of the United Nations.”

That comment comes as respect for the charter of the United Nations has become frayed. The world body is being scorned by Israel as corroded by antisemitism and has been the butt of jokes  from Real Time with Bill Maher to SNL. Mr. Netanhayu has accused the UN’s peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, of acting like “human shields” for Hezbollah terrorists. 

In recent days Israel has piqued France and Italy because some UNIFIL peacekeepers have been injured  in southern Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Forces are carrying out a ground military operation against the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Mr. Netanyahu told his French interviewer that Israel has “absolutely nothing” against the peacekeepers but doubled down on the human shield comment, maintaining that “Hezbollah often hides behind UNIFIL posts to launch missiles” at northern Israel.

“I remind you that the resolution 1701 required that the only weapons present south of the Litani River were to be those of the Lebanese army,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “However, in this area, Hezbollah has dug hundreds of tunnels and caches” for weapons.

An Israeli cabinet minister, Eli Cohen, recently stated that “The UN is a failed organization and UNIFIL is a useless force that failed to enforce Resolution 1701” and “failed to prevent Hezbollah from establishing itself in southern Lebanon.”

At the beginning of October, President Macron called for an international embargo on arms used by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, a hostile move that Mr.  Netanyahu denounced. He said that he hoped that France would modify its stance and  stand by Israel.

“Although we are not receiving weapons from France, I find this call shameful,” he stated. “I hope that France will change its policy, so that we can work together for the stability of Lebanon, as well as on other regional issues.”

On Thursday, following the news of the demise of chief Hamas terrorist Yahya Sinwar in Gaza, President Macron wrote on X: “Yahya Sinwar was the main culprit behind the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7 [2023]. On this day, I think with emotion of the victims, including 48 of our compatriots, and their loved ones. France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas.”