The CRIF in action
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Published on 8 November 2004

UNION OF JEWISH STUDENTS CANCELLS AD CAMPAIGN AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM

The Union of French Jewish Students, UEJF, presided by Yonathan Arfi, cancelled its ad campaign against anti-Semitism at the very last minute due to pressures from both within and outside the organized Jewish community. The ads were perceived as unnecessarily provocative and aiming at the wrong target.



The ads represented Jesus tagged with the words "Dirty Jew" and the Virgin Mary also tagged with the words "Dirty Jewess". The campaign's catch line was "Anti-Semitism concerns us all".

CRIF's President Roger Cukierman said he received dozens of phone calls from members of CRIF's Executive outraged by the nature of the ads. "I told UEJF's Yonathan Arfi he should think it over. The ads could lead to think that the Christians and the Church were the cause of the current outburst of anti-Semitism in France, which is absolutely not the case."

Father Patrick Desbois, Secretary General of the French Catholic Church's Commission for Relations with Jews, said, "If I knew of an ad campaign using a piece of a Torah scroll to promote tolerance, I would also do my utmost to prevent it."

The head of the Catholic Church in France, Cardinal Archbishop Barbarin, praised Roger Cukierman for his "courageous action" (see item in this Newsletter)

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