The French government launched a “conference to combat anti-Semitism” on Monday, May 6. Convened by the Minister in charge of Equality, Aurore Bergé, these meetings should last two months and come after an outbreak in 2023 of anti-Semitic acts in France, jumping by almost 1,000% in France since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas
2 mins
During a round table, the Minister for the Fight against Discrimination Aurore Bergé launched these meetings with the heads of several associations (Crif, UEFJ, SOS Racisme…) and representatives of the main religions. “ Through these meetings, I decided to create a space for dialogue ” For ” give voice to all those who suffer the concrete consequences of amalgams, postures, attempts at recovery », affirmed the minister.
With these foundations it is a question of “ establish together, without a spirit of controversy “, A ” common minimum on which it should never be possible to compromise “. This for “ rediscover the meaning of words and the path of reason », added Ms. Bergé.
“ Anti-Semitic acts have exploded »
The meeting was punctuated by video testimonies victims of anti-Semitism : a child recounting that another did not want to share her room because she was Jewish, a young woman insulted in the subway or a student targeted with a Nazi salute.
THE number of anti-Semitic acts recorded in France almost quadrupled last year, to 1,676 compared to 436 in 2022, according to Interior. Since October 7 (date of the Hamas attack on Israel) “ anti-Semitic acts have exploded “, affirmed the minister, deploring that “ ordinary hatred, fueled by the extremes, pours out on social networks, but also in our streets, in our schools, in our universities “.
The founder of the collective “We will live” Sarah Aizenman hopes to obtain “ key measures “, For ” fight against old-fashioned anti-Semitism, that of the extreme right, but also against modern anti-Semitism which hides under the new face of anti-Zionism “.
We expect clear positions and key measures. Today, we consider that it is appropriate to fight against old-fashioned anti-Semitism, that of the extreme right, but also against modern anti-Semitism which hides under the new face of anti-Zionism. And this is a new situation that must be taken into legal consideration. This initiative, for us, is a resource of hope. This means that the government is fully aware of the rise in anti-Semitism, [que le gouvernement] has in mind that today, French Jews feel insecure, that they are the ones who pay the heaviest price for what certain politicians enjoy doing today by stirring up hatred, by blowing up the embers. More than 1,000% of anti-Semitic acts is not insignificant. It’s not just numbers actually, it’s lives behind it. And so we have a lot of expectations. Today, it is a question of having a firm stance on the subject of the fight against anti-Semitism, that the aggressors are well aware of what they are incurring and that the victims are also well aware of their rights.
We are “expecting flagship measures” both “against old-fashioned anti-Semitism” and against the “modern one which hides under the new face of anti-Zionism”, explains Sarah Aizenman, founder of the collective “Nous Vivrons”
If anti-Semitic acts have increased by 1,000% in France, they are sometimes violent, but also often more insidious. This is explained by this Jewish student, member of the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF), who wishes to remain anonymous.
I have noticed the much more regular appearance of insidious anti-Semitism which consists of attributing intentions or ideas to all Jews and in particular to all young Jews. And this manifests itself in a way that is sometimes quite discreet, but quite violent, which in fact consists of the disappearance of the debate. The disappearance of interest even in what I can think, what my opinion can be, by giving myself diverse and varied opinions, whether they are mine or not, but in any case by presupposing what I will think and what I might want to say about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or about Israel. But really, I see a deterioration in the quality of exchanges and debate among youth movements, and more precisely a real polarization which prefers sensationalist positions that are all white, all black, quite Manichean, to debate in the end, to dialogue. , to “Let’s agree or let’s not agree, but let’s talk to each other”.
During the meetings, young Jews intend to denounce “the much more regular appearance” of an “insidious anti-Semitism which consists of attributing intentions or ideas to all Jews and in particular to all young Jews”, explains a member of the ‘UEJF