Israel’s ambassador to France, Yossi Gal, provided some twenty members on Sept. 8 with some frank, defensive, explanatory series of insights on some of the most sensitive issues facing his country and the international community. The breakfast meeting, hosted by the Israeli Embassy, covered French-Israeli relations, the controversial Palestinian move for recognition at the UN later this month; the recent, massive protest movements inIsraelover domestic issues, andIsrael’s strained relationship withTurkey. —Axel Krause