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Published on 9 December 2024

Crif Convention 2024 – Highlights of the day

On Sunday November 24, 2024, the 14th Crif National Convention was held on the theme: “Penser le monde d'après” (“To think the World of tomorrow”). Throughout the day, conferences, debates and discussions took place, and films and documentaries were screened. Numerous political, public and cultural figures also took part in the Convention.

Photo credit: ©Alain Azria

 

At the opening plenary, Crif President Yonathan Arfi opened the Convention, in the presence of former Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, Brice Teinturier, CEO of polling institute Ipsos, Delphine Horvilleur, JEM rabbi and Étienne Gernelle, director of Le Point.

Crif President recalled how October 7th “is a fracture in the history of the 21st century [...] October 7th is not just a fracture for Israel or for the Jews in the world. It is a fracture for all our liberal democracies, whose societies are now hysterized by the supporters of a misguided Palestinian cause”.

 

 

Brice Teinturier then presented the recent Ipsos survey commissioned by the Crif on “how the French view anti-Semitism and the situation of French Jews – in 2024”. Ipsos CEO commented on the numbers from this study, pointing out that among the populations that were the most receptive to antisemitic prejudices were supporters of La France insoumise (LFI) (editor’s note: far-left political party) and Rassemblement national (RN) (editor’s note: far-right political party). “The two extremes are now the ones that believe the most in anti-Jewish stereotypes.”

Stéphane Bou, Chief Editor of La Revue K, then moderated a conversation between Bernard Cazeneuve, Delphine Horvilleur and Étienne Gernelle.

Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur shared her vision of the post-October 7 era, of a “world that will never be the same again”. “There is such a strong denial of History around us [...] in reaction to this lack of consciousness or historical memory, many Jews develop a hyper-memory of our past traumas, a survival anxiety, as if current events were constant reminders of the past. All of a sudden, we're drawing links with the Second World War, Kristallnacht, etc.” We're dealing with a “historical stutter”.

Bernard Cazeneuve pointed out that since October 7th, this is the first time since the founding fathers of the European Union that we have seen the resurgence of this hatred of Jews, which is the result of Islamist terrorism. “This is even more unacceptable given that the Holocaust happened and we know what hatred of Jews can lead to.” The former Prime Minister also reiterated the resurgence of political statements and ways of being that will have very serious consequences on our society with regard to all citizens, not just Jews.

Étienne Gernelle also discussed the question of remembrance. “There is obviously a competition of memories that is deliberate and organized.” In terms of memory, there's an attempt to erase and counterbalance the memory of the Holocaust, but also of October 7, even though it happened under our eyes and was filmed by Hamas terrorists.  “We shouldn't talk about it, we shouldn't say it. [...] Jews should be discreet?”
“In a post-October 7 world, which is a world hostile to freedom of speech [...] there is a political decline, a form of media bankruptcy.”

 

 

Watch the opening plenary here:

 

 

Throughout the day, a large number of visitors attended twenty round table discussions, debates and conferences, as well as film and documentary screenings.

The 14th edition of the Crif National Convention ended with a closing plenary attended by the French Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Region, and Bruno Tertrais, Deputy Director of the Foundation for Strategic Research.

 

 

Crif President delivered a closing speech, reminding us that “our era is first and foremost one in which freedom of speech, if not freedom itself, is threatened in every corner of the globe. A time when democracy, far from progressing, is under attack from more and more powerful authoritarian regimes”, and launched “a heartfelt call” for writer Boualem Sansal.  “Boualem Sansal, who spoke here last year and with whom we share such a French passion for the universal. Boualem Sansal, who has turned his pen into a weapon in the fight against all forms of obscurantism. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask for your applause as we call for the immediate release of Boualem Sansal in Algeria.”

Yonathan Arfi then reiterated “how the Palestinian cause has been distorted through guilty shortcuts in which Jews are de facto designated for hatred and violence”.
“We live in times when international institutions, the ones born in the wake of the Shoah's ‘never again’, stigmatize the State of Israel, and want to turn the accusation of genocide against it. Where the International Criminal Court (ICC) imposes an equivalence between a terrorist organization and a democracy.”

Crif President concluded by asking for the immediate release of all hostages still being held in Gaza, among them French citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi.

“It's up to all of us to take up the pen to write, invent, and live the France and the world of tomorrow.” stated Yonathan Arfi before giving the floor to the French Minister of Interior.

 

Click here for the full text of the Crif President's speech at the closing plenary session of the 14th Crif Convention (French).

 

French Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau praised the quality of the 14th Convention, its content and its speakers. “At a time when, more than ever, the State must stand by our Jewish compatriots [...] when antisemitism is once again making itself heard, we need a new ‘J'accuse’ to designate this new antisemitism and to designate antisemites.”

“Today, France would no longer be France [without its Jewish compatriots]” stated Bruno Retailleau, underlining the importance of the major intellectual and cultural contribution made by French Jews to the country.

The Minister of the Interior concluded his speech with these words: “If being Jewish in France means being alone, then we no longer know how to be French. The battle [against antisemitism] must be the battle of France”.

 

 

Watch the closing plenary here:

 

 

Visit the photos gallery of Crif National Convention here.

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