 |
 |
 |
|
|
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged French Jews to "move to Israel as early as possible" to escape "the wildest anti-Semitism" in France.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Ellis Shuman July 19, 2004 |
|
| |
French officials sharply criticized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon after he urged French Jews to immediately emigrate to Israel to escape what he called "the wildest anti-Semitism." A French Foreign Ministry spokesman branded Sharon's language "unacceptable" and demanded an explanation.
Speaking in Jerusalem to a conference of American Jewish leaders, Sharon said, "If I have to advocate to our brothers in France, I will tell them one thing. Move to Israel, as early as possible."
Sharon acknowledged that the French government was making efforts to stem anti-Semitism, but he termed the threat so grave that French Jews should make aliya and move to Israel without delay.
The speech came just ten days after a young French woman reported being attacked by six men on a Parisian commuter train due to their assumption that she was Jewish. After being questioned by police, the woman admitted to fabricating the story, but French leaders went out of their way to stress that anti-Semitism in the country was a reality.
In June, French Jewish leaders including Roger Cukierman, the head of CRIF, the umbrella group of France's Jewish organizations, expressed shock at media reports stating that the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency planned an intensive campaign to persuade French Jews to emigrate to Israel.
In response to Sharon's comments yesterday, Theo Klein, CRIF's honorary president, said the Israeli prime minister should let the French Jewish community take care of its own problems. "It's not up to him to decide for us," Klein said.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Hevre Ladsous said his government had "made contact with Israeli authorities to ask them for explanations about these unacceptable statements."
Sharon's spokesman Ra'anan Gissin tried to smooth over the tension and stressed that the prime minister had praised France for its "strong stance against anti-Semitism."
"The prime minister admits, however, that the widespread anti-Semitism in France is due to the demographic factor, that there is a large Muslim populace who are hostile to Israel," Gissin said.
"He is not telling them to flee because of anti-Semitism, rather that this should be a contributing factor (for emigration)," Gissin said, adding Sharon called on all Jews to move to Israel so they could live "a full Jewish life."
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
