The most remarkable thing during the march against anti-Semitism organized on Sunday, November 12, was the silence. Among the more than 100,000 people gathered in Paris, there were almost no slogans – apart from a few minority cases of individuals chanting The Marseillaise. No flag either, except that of France. Inevitably, the memory of the demonstration organized following the massacre of Charlie Hebdo in 2015 has taken over many of us. At the time, a million and a half people had also marched in Paris for hours, surrounded by deputies, ministers, but there were also Muslim, Christian, Jewish, secular associations… This event united us. Difficult to say the same today.
Since October 7, no less than 1,200 anti-Semitic acts have been recorded in France. As a result, it is the heart of the Republic that is attacked. However, part of the left preferred to condemn the organization of this march, as if it were a latent position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (rather than what it was: a march against anti-Semitism). However, at Sunday’s march, we did not see any slogans concerning the tragic events taking place in the Middle East. In this context, it is legitimate to ask whether the fight against anti-Semitism can still unite the French…
Amalgam
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, holding Jews responsible for the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza has become fashionable. Hundreds of comments and videos calling for hatred of Jews are circulating on social networks. This violence deserves to be condemned without reservation, regardless of the situation in Gaza. Because what we are talking about, in this case, is the unity of the French people in the face of these intolerable comments.
The same evening of the attack Charlie Hebdo, certain individuals had torn up the Koran on the Place de la République. “No amalgamation,” they were immediately told. We would like this principle to also be applied by La France insoumise today, to confront identity-based discourse. But this seems to be wasted effort.
The absence of LFI during Sunday’s large gathering, as well as the remarks of MP David Guiraud accusing the demonstration of “normalizing unconditional support for the ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza” confirmed this dangerous amalgamation between “Jew” and ” Zionist”, “Jew” and “Israeli”. Remember that this same party was very present and visible during the demonstration in support of the Palestinians, Place de la République on October 19, where some demonstrators reportedly shouted “Allah Akbar”.
It also escaped no one’s notice that after urging Israel to cease fire against civilians in Gaza, the head of state also preferred not to participate in Sunday’s march. His presence was nevertheless necessary to ensure France’s commitment against anti-Semitism far from the Middle East conflict… Let us remember that in 1990, François Mitterrand participated in a demonstration condemning anti-Semitism, after the desecration of the cemetery Jewish from Carpentras.
“Not a good time”
Let’s return to Sunday’s march, where we met a woman carrying a sign on which was written: “I am not Jewish, I am not anti-Palestine, I am not National Front, I I’m French and I never want that again.” This sentence alone summed up the line of this gathering. And confirmed that taking it out of its original context to make it bear the weight of the conflict in the Middle East is not only unwelcome, but also risks dividing French Jews.
Before the creation of the Israeli state in 1948, more than 800,000 Jews lived in Arab countries, and had done so for hundreds of years. Before long, they were expelled, accused of being guilty of the war between the Zionist state and the Arabs. Do we want to experience this in France?
For some, now would not be a good time to demonstrate against anti-Semitism as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues. On the contrary, given the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts in France over the past month, it is more necessary than ever to demonstrate now and react quickly in order to prevent misunderstandings from becoming lastingly established in people’s minds.
Sunday’s march can help unite the French, provided that other voices join it. The message from the leading procession, which held a sign reading “For the Republic, against anti-Semitism,” is a good start.
“Being French”, by Omar Youssef Souleimane. Flammarion, 160 p., €19.