The French Jewish advocacy group CRIF has condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about Israel during the international conference in Paris in support of the people and sovereignty of Lebanon.
“Much has been said about the ‘clash of civilisations’ and the need to defend one’s civilisation. I am not convinced one can defend civilisation by perpetuating acts of barbarism,” said Macron on October 24, referring to Israel’s military policies and actions in the Middle East.
Macron’s words sparked criticism from the CRIF: “Never in history has a democracy accused another democracy of ‘sowing barbarism’. Never in France has a President of the Republic spoken such words to our allies, whatever their disagreements and differences,” the group said in a press release published on X on October 24.
The statement denounced Macron’s comments as “outrageous”.
“The outrageous words used by the President of the Republic symbolically put the real barbarians of Hamas and Hezbollah, who have massacred, mutilated and raped civilian populations, back to back with the response of democracy under attack,” it read.
The CRIF warned that Macron’s words were “legitimising hateful statements about Israel, which for the past year have resulted in the stigmatisation of Jews and the unleashing of the most dangerous anti-Semitic acts”.
Nine out of ten Jews in the European Union have experienced anti-Semitism and most worry for their own safety, according to a new study. https://t.co/rtuvTOpNhS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 15, 2024
The CRIF added that any frictions in the relationship between Macron and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu should not justify such language, stating that diplomatic differences did not excuse inflammatory public remarks.
French media reported that Macron had reminded Netanyahu of the importance of adhering to United Nations directives, pointing out that Israel’s founding was based on a 1947 UN vote.
He allegedly remarked during a ministerial meeting: “Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a UN decision.”
The French President’s latest comments have revealed a growing diplomatic split between France and Israel.
In an interview with Brussels Signal on October 19, Juan Caldes, European Union affairs officer for the European Jewish Association said questioning the existence of the Israeli State could be viewed as anti-Semitism.
“If you criticise Netanyahu’s policies in terms of how he’s waging war there’s no anti-Semitism whatsoever. I could criticise the Prime Minister of my own country of Spain, Pedro Sánchez and I’m not anti-Spanish,” Caldes said.
“You can be very vocal against this government [Israel] and criticise the policies of the government absolutely, but another very different thing is to question the legitimisation of the existence of the only Jewish state,” he added.
Don´t miss the full #interview with Juan Caldes, EU affairs officer for the European Jewish Association 👉🏽 https://t.co/ANJQQ79vB8 pic.twitter.com/3LqlmZ3E62
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 18, 2024
