Forgive us our racism
By Goel Pinto
May 2007
The murder of Taysir Karaki of Beit Hanina, 35 and the father of five, was carried out by a single individual, but the soil on which the Jewish-French terrorist Julian Soufir thrived nevertheless bears collective examination.
More than a few French Jews explained during the recent presidential election campaign that they were for Nicolas Sarkozy because of the iron fist he employed against first-generation Muslim immigrants in the Paris suburb riots of 2005. His unequivocal support for the Jewish community after Ilan Halimi's murder in 2006 and the fact he ascribed anti-Semitic motives to it also helped Sarkozy to win over many French Jews. Remarks along the lines of
There are 600,000 Jews living in France today. Unlike the children of the Muslim immigrants, many French Jews have obtained senior positions and garnered the respect and protection of the government.
On the one hand, they integrated into French society, while on the other they continued to demonstrate great loyalty to Israel and in particular to the right-wing governments that have ruled it in recent decades.
No French Jew would dare to hurt a Muslim in France. The Jewish murderer Soufir immigrated to Israel before he murdered an Arab - and not because of any shortage of Muslims in France.
The time has come for the State of Israel to place a mirror before France's Jews, who are dancing at two weddings at the same time. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Acting President Dalia Itzik should pay a visit to the family of the murder victim and ask for forgiveness in the name of the state and the Jewish people, just as Jordan's King Hussein did after the murder of the seven girls from Beit Shemesh in the Naharayim terror attack in 1997, just as the French president and his wife, Jacques and Bernadette Chirac, and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin did following Halimi's murder when they attended his memorial service at a Paris synagogue.
This is also the appropriate time for the heads of France's Jewish community, led by Chief Rabbi Yosef Sitruk, to visit the Great Mosque of Paris and to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for the murder, but also for the anti-Muslim racism that is rooted in their community, which is one of the main causes for the deterioration in relations between Jews and Muslims in France.
More than a few French Jews explained during the recent presidential election campaign that they were for Nicolas Sarkozy because of the iron fist he employed against first-generation Muslim immigrants in the Paris suburb riots of 2005. His unequivocal support for the Jewish community after Ilan Halimi's murder in 2006 and the fact he ascribed anti-Semitic motives to it also helped Sarkozy to win over many French Jews. Remarks along the lines of
"the Arabs are taking over France" and "we need a real man to put things right here"were voiced by more than a few Jews during the campaign.
There are 600,000 Jews living in France today. Unlike the children of the Muslim immigrants, many French Jews have obtained senior positions and garnered the respect and protection of the government.
- In a state that champions the obliteration of religious identity in favor of a universal identity as members of the republic, the Jews have played both sides of the field.
- On the one hand, they integrated into French society, while on the other they continued to demonstrate great loyalty to Israel and in particular to the right-wing governments that have ruled it in recent decades.
- The militancy of many French Jews and the racism that some of them display against Muslims are not new phenomena.
I can recall one Shabbat morning in a Paris synagogue. I was 12. It was during the 1982 Lebanon war, and the rabbi recited the prayer for the State of Israel and its soldiers. The congregation responded with interjections such as
"Sharon, you show them" and "Kill them."The rabbi made no effort to silence them. Even then it was clear that this community, which for years had donated generously to Israel, was using the state as a tool of revenge.
On the one hand, they integrated into French society, while on the other they continued to demonstrate great loyalty to Israel and in particular to the right-wing governments that have ruled it in recent decades.
No French Jew would dare to hurt a Muslim in France. The Jewish murderer Soufir immigrated to Israel before he murdered an Arab - and not because of any shortage of Muslims in France.
The image of the victim causes the government, mainly because of its own feelings of guilt over the Vichy period, to give them broad support.
The time has come for the State of Israel to place a mirror before France's Jews, who are dancing at two weddings at the same time. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Acting President Dalia Itzik should pay a visit to the family of the murder victim and ask for forgiveness in the name of the state and the Jewish people, just as Jordan's King Hussein did after the murder of the seven girls from Beit Shemesh in the Naharayim terror attack in 1997, just as the French president and his wife, Jacques and Bernadette Chirac, and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin did following Halimi's murder when they attended his memorial service at a Paris synagogue.
This is also the appropriate time for the heads of France's Jewish community, led by Chief Rabbi Yosef Sitruk, to visit the Great Mosque of Paris and to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for the murder, but also for the anti-Muslim racism that is rooted in their community, which is one of the main causes for the deterioration in relations between Jews and Muslims in France.
No comments:
Post a Comment