anti-Semitism
France is struggling to find its course in the face of the Gaza war
Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella at the demonstration against anti-Semitism in Paris. photo
© Christophe Ena/AP/dpa
The Gaza war triggers a wave of anti-Semitism in France, with 100,000 demonstrating against it in Paris. The right-wing Le Pen is there, but the left-wing party is missing.
The spectrum ranges from anti-Jewish graffiti and insults to physical threats: In In France, the Gaza war has led to a massive increase in anti-Semitic incidents. An example: Recently, a teenager on the Paris metro insulted a rabbi in Arabic and then even kicked him in the back. More than 1,200 anti-Semitic incidents were registered within five weeks, three times as many as in the entire previous year. Hundreds of investigations were initiated.
This is causing outrage in the country with the highest number of Jewish residents in Europe, with tens of thousands demonstrating against anti-Semitism over the weekend. At the same time, Islam is the second most important religion after Catholicism and France is also the country with the most Muslims in Europe. This particularly includes residents with roots in Muslim countries, who are often particularly affected by the fate of the Palestinians. As in Germany, there were a number of mostly non-violent pro-Palestinian rallies. Against this background, the government in Paris is balancing its course particularly carefully in view of the Gaza war.
Macron is trying a balancing act
President Emmanuel Macron, who is often said to have a both/and policy that tries to cover different positions at the same time, has been trying to do a balancing act since the Hamas attack on Israel: taking a clear position for Israel, which includes the right to self-defense and Security and at the same time support legitimate concerns of the Palestinians, such as the desire for their own state.
Macron was criticized in France for traveling to Israel on a solidarity visit quite late, after several other top politicians. He then accused Israel of an “indiscriminate bombardment” in Gaza with unnecessary suffering among civilians and called for a ceasefire – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately rejected Macron’s allegations.
100,000 people on the streets against anti-Semitism
More than 100,000 people opposed the wave of anti-Semitism in Paris on Sunday. They received broad political support. Not without reason, as anti-Semitism has been a growing problem in France for years. After a serious anti-Semitic attack in France in 2012, an increasing number of Jews emigrated to Israel. The murder of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll for anti-Semitic motives also caused shock in Paris in 2018.
Meanwhile, at the Paris rally, there was controversy and eye-rubbing over which parties marched in the demonstration – and which didn’t. The right-wing nationalist politician Marine Le Pen joined the rally with other representatives of the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN). Other parties called for disassociation from Le Pen and RN representatives were pressured to take a position on anti-Semitic attitudes of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founding father of the right-wing extremist party.
Right-wing parties march against anti-Semitism
It was assumed that by taking part in the rally, Le Pen was continuing her softening course with the aim of becoming electable to a wider range of people and no longer offending people with extreme positions. However, she received support from an unexpected quarter. Jewish historian Serge Klarsfeld, known as the “Nazi hunter”, told the newspaper Le Figaro that the right-wing party had changed under the leadership of Marine Le Pen and that there was a move away from previous anti-Semitism. In this respect, the party’s participation in the demonstration was something positive.
The Frenchman Klarsfeld (88), son of a Jew murdered in Auschwitz, has made the pursuit of Nazi criminals his life’s work together with his German wife Beate. Along with Simon Wiesenthal, the Klarsfelds are considered to be the most well-known persecutors of Nazi criminals. As a child in 1943, Klarsfeld narrowly escaped the raid in which his father was arrested and deported.
Leftists are missing in protest against the right-wing participants
Meanwhile, the Left Party stayed away from the demonstration in protest against the right-wing participants – but the leading left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon had previously spoken of a gathering of “unconditional supporters of the massacre” that, in his view, was taking place in Gaza. Since the Hamas attack on Israel, controversies have increased surrounding the political stance of the Left Party and particularly Mélenchon, who reject the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The extreme left has always had an anti-Semitic tradition, said Klarsfeld. “I am relieved that the RN is abandoning anti-Semitism and acting as a defender of the Jews, but I am sad that the extreme left is abandoning its line of action against anti-Semitism.” However, communists, socialists and Greens joined the march against anti-Semitism, which was initiated by the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and Senate President Gérard Larcher.
The president was also missing
Meanwhile, there was a lack of understanding among many people because ex-presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy as well as former heads of government were present at the rally, but not current President Emmanuel Macron. This may have been due to his both/and course and the desire not to openly take either side in the conflict. Before the demonstration, Macron addressed the French in an open letter on the subject of anti-Semitism – but at the same time an interview with him appeared on the British BBC with strong criticism of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip.