Fighting Back in France

One piece from January that appeared in Tablet claimed that Cuckierman’s strategy for combating anti-Semitism in France consisted of having the French Jewish community distance itself from Israel (so that Jewish institutions wouldn’t simply be viewed as an annex of the Israeli embassy). Another piece accused Cukierman of claiming that the Quenelle gesture—the inverted Nazi salute—isn’t always anti-Semitic, another argued that France’s aging Jewish leadership is out of touch with younger generations—a common, if mindless, complaint heard the world over.

So when I met with Cukierman (who is also vice-President of the World Jewish Congress) I was surprised to find someone whose outlook broke with the above representation in just about every way. When I questioned Cukierman about the relationship between Israel and anti-Semitism in France he responded quite emphatically, “It’s not true that anti-Semitism is the result of Israeli policy,” insisting that this is the same anti-Semitism that has existed since long before the creation of the State of Israel. Pushing the matter further, I wondered what CRIF’s  President thought of the notion that Diaspora Jews should be seen to be more critical of Israel; after all, it’s an idea that’s gaining traction both among some Jewish leaders in Europe and with certain liberal Jewish groups in America. Again, Cukierman was unequivocal, “the Israeli citizen is the one who is risking his skin … it would be outrageous to tell the Israelis what they should do for their own security … I consider it their risk, and their choice, and their life.” So no mistaking his position on that matter.

If Cukierman does not consider anti-Israel sentiments to be at the root of France’s alarming upsurge in anti-Semitism, then how is it to be explained? Cukierman suggests that there are three separate sources of hostility to Jews in France; the far-right, the far-left and radical Islam. Others from his office suggested also the role of economic hardships and post-colonial guilt. Still, these factors are certainly at play in other European countries, but it is France that seems to be considered one of the most troubled locations on the map of global anti-Semitism. Could it be less a matter of the combustible concoction of all these factors and more the fact that France has each factor in greater abundance than anywhere else? Perhaps in France, after a fraught flight from North Africa, post-colonial feeling is particularly intense; perhaps France’s Muslim population is larger and less assimilated than in other places; perhaps the left is particularly dominant in Franc; or perhaps the right has some particularly charismatic leaders in the form of the le Pens… Read more.

Source: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/05/15/fighting-back-in-france/