Jacques Chirac is saying that France has no problem with anti-Semitism and that it is "wrong and dangerous" to say that they do.
At the same time, French Jews are leaving the country in droves.
"As a Jew I don’t see any future for me in France," he said. "Just put on a skull cap in the street and see the reaction you get. While Muslim girls can wear veils and no-one says a word."
Apparently France isn’t anti-Semitic, it’s simply hostile to Jews.
(Links via Merde in France)
I don’t know who is running tis site, but it’s just wrong. You want the phone number of my best friend? (not just one friend of mine. the best I have). He’s jewish, and goes to the temple walking down the street. He’d tell you better than this website that is a real piece of crap and lies to support your anti-french propaganda. Just the title is already an insult.
Sure, I’m just making this all up. Except the BBC is the one reporting this story, and I’m merely pointing out their reporting.
You’d also have to argue that The Simon Wiesenthal Center is also lying.
And the BBC again…
And the Guardian must be spreading lies too
…and the Anti-Defamation League…
And Alain Finkielkraut and Pierre-André Taguieff must be lying too, because they say that anti-Semitism is alive and flourishing in France.
And I’m sure your Jewish friend would be perfectly safe walking through the Sarcelles or Quai d’Orsay wearing his kippa
Somehow this unwillingness to realize the truth seems all too familiar… wake up and smell the burning synagogues!
let summarize here:
1-today you’re calling me a nazi(uselly you call me a communist)
2-the BBC and the guardian are trustworthy again
3-how did you know my friend lives in Sarcelles!?!(I’m not kidding, he lives the city just next to it, with the very same reputation)
4-As for the other article, what you denounce against jews is totally acceptable when itss against arabs!
Unlike you jay, I state that violence is unacceptable on both side.
But is Anti-Semitism worse in France than in your favorite nation in New Europe, Jay? 650,000 Jews live in France. There are Jewish politicians, doctors, lawyers, actors (viva Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz), journalists, and all types of prominent roles. There are also middle class and lower class Jews as well. The Jewish spectrum is rich in France. Remember, after the Jews were kicked out of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, MORE chose France than Israel due to cultural reasons. Now compare the paltry number of Jews in nations like the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and other Eastern European nations. Save Hungary, the Jewish populations here are very small. They are marginalized in their jobs and do not take an active role in society. I know Czech Jews who have told me nothing has changed in Prague since the turn of the century for them. Yes, there have been anti-Semitic attacks in France, yes there is anti-Semitism. But there is NO proof that it is worse than any other parts of Europe. Furthermore when you single out France for criticism you give anti-Semitism in other nations (mainly the right’s new pet nation in Eastern and Central Europe) a free pass to exist without criticism. Why do you never quote the leader of the French Jewish Congress, Roger Cuikerman. Cuikerman stated that France is still a most friendly place to Jews despite an anti-semitic component in French society. I love it how the American right never chooses to see what French Jewish leaders themselves say, it’s very telling.
There’s a reason why the Jewish population in Eastern Europe is small – because between Hitler and Stalin most of them were either killed or fled to Israel.
Is there a problem with anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe? I’m sure there is. However, the reason why I specifically target France is that the French government is failing to admit that there is a problem.
When the Simon Wiesenthal Center issues a travel advisory, that means there’s a problem. When prominent French Jews like Alain Finkelkraut start saying they fear for their lives, there’s a problem. When synagogues start burning, there’s a problem. When "anti-war" marches have people shouting "Death To The Jews!" there’s a problem. When the wife of a prominent ECB official says that Hitler was right to hate the Jews, there’s a problem.
Yet Chirac says there’s no problem. Cuikermann himself admits there is an anti-Semitic component in French society. Unless that component is dealt with, things will only get worse.
The fact that Chirac is denying that there is a threat when the rest of the world says otherwise, there is most assuredly a problem with anti-Semitism in France.
No, I’m not calling you a Nazi, nor are you a Communist. (Socialist maybe, but communist no… 🙂 )
However, one cannot simply sit around and accept or ignore cases in which anti-Semitism is alive and well in France. It would be like me saying that the KKK doesn’t exist, there’s no anti-black violence in the US and anyone who says anything otherwise is a liar. I’d not only be lying myself, but I’d be giving cover for those hate groups. Such an action simply isn’t productive, nor is it right.
when Chirac came to NY, he came with a very specific delegation: simone weil, the president of the jewish federation in france, and another jew oficial to visit the new-yorkan community.
Sarkozy, defense minsister,tackled anti-jews actions severely, and took measures right away, which made the rate of action against jew decline as fast as they had appeared.
So you cannot say that the problme is not taken care of; dealt with.
but it is in no way as bad as you seem to describe it.
It should be noted that the French Jewish Congress leader, Roger Cuikerman, condemned the Simon Weisenthal Center travel advisory as unnecessary and excessive. And while I am aware of why there are fewer Jews in Eastern Europe, the fact that they are smaller makes them more vulnerable. And for all its flaws (and France has many), the French democratic system has a longer and better track record of tolerance to minorities than any nation in Central and Eastern Europe. Since most of those democracies are in their infancies, it will take time for precedents to be established. And this plays out in various societal spheres. In Paris they cheer black french soccer stars like Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, while in places like Prague, Bratislava, and Warsaw black soccer players (usually foreigners on domestic sides) are greeted with taunts and bananas thrown at them. Despite recent setbacks, France is a pretty diverse and tolerant place. But I agree Chirac needs to recognize them problem more clearly. Although, to his credit, Jean-Pierre Raffarin did so in explicit terms.