Gilles-William Goldnadel

Gilles-William Goldnadel
Born (1954-01-12) 12 January 1954
Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France
Residence Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Nationality French
Israeli
Education Lycée des Bruyères
Alma mater Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Occupation Lawyer, author, columnist
Spouse(s) Béatrice Vonderweidt
Children 1 son, 1 daughter
Parent(s) Henri Goldnadel
Victoria Schwartz

Gilles-William Goldnadel (born 1954) is a French-Israeli lawyer, author and columnist.

Early life

Gilles-William Goldnadel was born on January 12, 1954 in Rouen, in northern France.[1][2] He is a secular Ashkenazi Jew.[1] His father was Henri Goldnadel, descended from left-wing Polish Jews, while his mother, Victoria Schwartz, descended from Communist Russian Jews.[1][2]

Goldnadel grew up in Gournay-en-Bray, where they owned a clothing store.[1] He was educated at the Lycée des Bruyères in Rouen.[2] He received a Master's degree in Law from Pantheon-Sorbonne University.[2]

Career

Goldnadel is a lawyer.[1] He has defended Israeli businessman Arcadi Gaydamak and Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, among many others.[1] In 1996, he defended Maurice Arreckx.[3] In 2014, he defended Patrick Buisson, former President Nicolas Sarkozy's advisor.[4] In 2015, he defended Florian Philippot, a French politician, against the absolute monarchy of Qatar.[4][5]

An author, Goldnadel has written eight books, three of which with Jean-Claude Gawsewitch. In 2011, he wrote the preface of Vendée : du génocide au mémoricide by Reynald Secher, suggesting the War in the Vendée led to a genocide.[6] He is also a columnist, writing for Le Figaro and Valeurs Actuelles, two conservative French publications.[6][7] He protects freedom of speech in French media.[1] In a March 2015 column in Le Figaro, he suggested antisemitism and islamophobia were not comparable.[8]

Philanthropy

Goldnadel first visited Israel in 1971.[1] He serves as the President of the Association France-Israël.[8] He has served on the Steering Committee of the CRIF since 2010.[6][9] He is a zionist, and supports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[1] He is a member of The Republicans.[5]

Personal life

Goldnadel became an Israeli citizen in 2000.[1] He is married to Béatrice Vonderweidt,[2] a former model, now a painter whose work was exhibited at the French Institute of Tel Aviv in 2008.[1][10] She is a gentile.[1] They reside in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris.[6] They also have homes in Palermo, Italy, and Tel Aviv, Israel.[6] They have a son, Benjamin, and a daughter, Laura-Sarah, both of whom are Israeli citizens and residents.[1]

Bibliography

References

External links

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