Questioned by “L’Orient XXI”, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of France Insoumise, defended himself against the suspicions of anti-Semitism which weigh on his party. “Our accusers don’t believe it themselves,” he assures.
In an interview for The Orient XXI, published Thursday December 7, Jean-Luc Mélenchon returned to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. On several occasions, LFI has distinguished itself from other French political parties by first refusing to characterize Hamas as a terrorist organization, then by pointing out the situation of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. Thus, in this war, Jean-Luc Mélenchon believes that “Netanyahu’s action against the Gazans is not legitimate. It is not self-defense, but genocide.”
He also questioned the “unconditional support for Israel” expressed by Yaël-Braun Pivet, president of the National Assembly. According to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, it is impossible to “unconditionally” support the policies of the Israeli Prime Minister, particularly in terms of colonization. “This position is considered by a certain number of fanatic people as anti-Semitism,” he regrets. Asked about the fact that part of the Jewish community feels abandoned by the left, he replies: “We are and will always be the first to fight without weakness against the spread of racism.”
“I feel abandoned”
He then recalled that members of LFI had been attacked by official representatives of the Jewish community during a commemoration of the Vel D’Hiv roundup, but also that his parliamentary group had been excluded from the Mireille Knoll march. by the Jewish Defense League (LDJ). During this event, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) refused to protect the elected representatives of its group. “I feel abandoned by those I have defended all my life. We have never failed in our duty,” he assures L’Orient XXI. “No one has filed a complaint against me for anti-Semitism, yet it is an offense in France. It is therefore because our accusers do not believe it themselves,” continues Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
Saying he was “marked” by the situation in Gaza, the Nupes leader sees this conflict as the “necrosis of the West.” “The inability to immediately put an end to an abomination like this is a sign of moral decline for all those who find it normal and let it happen,” he argues. He deplores that Emmanuel Macron took 35 days before requesting a ceasefire in Gaza, when the humanitarian situation was critical. “Gaza is the Guernica of the 21ste century”, concludes Jean-Luc Mélenchon.