ABSTRACT
An examination of the rst decade of relations between France and Israel reveals speedy and dramatic change in both states’ foreign policies. At the end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s, relations between the two countries were still marked by relative coolness. However, within a few years this mutual suspicion had been transformed into a close alliance characterised by emotional overtones not commonly found in relationships between states. The Franco-Israeli ‘honeymoon,’ which began around the time of the Suez Crisis, constitutes the starting point for this book, and it is thus important to trace its causes. It is also important to note the traditional differences of opinion between the two countries, as well as the tensions that continued to exist even during their friendship.
