French President Emmanuel Macron receives members of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) early Monday evening, March 18. First to mark the 80th anniversary of the organization. This invitation takes on a very symbolic dimension, in a context of war in the Middle East and increases in anti-Semitic acts.
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Usually, it is the Crif who receives the President of the Republic. This on the occasion of an annual dinner, to which the organization invites numerous political, artistic or economic figures. This time, it is the head of state who receives the organization, as the former socialist president François Hollande did 10 years ago, for the 70th anniversary of the council.
This year, the context is particularly tense. There France is experiencing a resurgence of anti-Semitic acts, since the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7 and the start of the bombings on the Gaza Strip. “ Never before has such a level been reached », Yonathan Arfi, the president of Crif, has already worried.
As of last November, the Minister of the Interior had counted nearly 1,500 anti-Semitic acts since the start of the war. Thus in 2023, the number of verbal or physical attacks against Jewish or supposed Jewish people has increased fourfold: 1,676 committed against 436 in 2022.
Request for investigation after the controversy at Sciences Po
A few days ago, the organization requested the establishment of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into anti-Semitism in higher education, following the incidents which shook the Science Po Paris school last Tuesday.
The large amphitheater was occupied all morning by around a hundred students as part of a European demonstration for Palestine. According to several witnesses, a student, member of the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF) was prevented from entering: the UEJF assures that the young woman’s Zionist opinions were criticized against her, the organizers of the event deny it outright and cite security reasons.
The Head of State reacted very quickly, as did his Prime Minister, speaking of a “ slow drift linked to an active minority “.
Emmanuel Macron had already spoken out on the resurgence of anti-Semitic acts since the start of the war, first in a letter published in the daily Le Parisien-Today in France. “ No tolerance for the intolerable », he had written mid-November, to avoid any confusion and recoverywhen he had just clarified that he would not take part in a large march against anti-Semitism in Paris, organized the next day. His absence caused controversy.
A few days later, an event at the Élysée caused controversy. He receives the Chief Rabbi of France, who lights in his presence the first candle of the traditional Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Criticism for its systematic alignment with Israel
Emmanuel Macron’s speech comes to mark 80 years of existence of Crif. The organization was therefore born during the Second World War, from a mutual aid network to save Jews from the German occupation. Today, Crif has 73 associations.
The organization presents itself as republican, with the objective of “ carry the worries and concerns of French Jews “. Over time, it has clearly established itself as a major player in French politics: Crif traditionally receives presidential candidates, for example. He regularly attracts criticism for his systematic support for Israel. Recently, the leader of France Insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the organization “ to force everyone to align with the position of the far-right Israeli government », after the attack of October 7.