Sansal returns to Jerusalem. “The regime punished me because I support Israel, a wonderful people”

“Continue to be as courageous as you have always been.” This is the message addressed to the Israeli public by the 67-year-old Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, interviewed by the broadcaster Kan in his first conversation with an Israeli media outlet since his release from prison in Algiers. A dissident voice unwelcome to the Algerian regime due to his opposition to Islamic fundamentalism and his friendship with Israel, Sansal served a year in harsh prison conditions before a presidential pardon, granted under pressure from Germany and France, restored his freedom. He now lives in France. ““My friendship with Israel is actually the deepest-rooted reason for everything the regime has done to me,” said Sansal. “The regime feared I would become a role model for others to follow.” In recounting his story, Sansal recalled how, for years, the regime had tolerated him whilst opposing him: “They threatened me, censored me, sacked me from my job, but they didn’t arrest me”. In 2012, he visited Jerusalem: “I was convinced that upon my return to Algeria I would be arrested, tortured and sent to prison for years. But to my surprise, nothing happened.” The current regime, led by Tebboune, has instead “chosen the path of terror”.

Sansal described 7 October as “one of the greatest horrors in history”. “Those who allowed this horror to happen must be punished: Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran”. Speaking to the Israeli audience, Sansal said he was not “the only one who feels friendship for this wonderful country and its great people. Many feel the same way, but do not have the courage to say so out loud. Courage, like any other quality, can be learnt and cultivated.” He then announced a new trip to Israel: “I shall come with joy.” There is Sansal, and then there are our intellectuals, sheltered within democracies, who harbour anti-Semitic cowardice.