News Releases 2023
Paris, 5 October 2023
In December 2019, the Wiesenthal Centre sat in the French Assemblée Nationale (lower chamber of Parliament) to witness the historic adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism. The vast majority approved, with the exception of populist extreme-left La France Insoumise (LFI - “France Unbowed”) and a few other sparse deputies.
This week, LFI Member of Parliament Sylvie Ferrer – elected in Toulouse – called on the Ministry of Justice to take action against the “direct and indirect participation of French citizens in illegal acts.” She apparently referred to French – presumably Jewish – citizens who volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces.
Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, commented: “In doing so, she implicitly raised the suspicion of the ‘dual loyalty’ of French Jews... a classical antisemitic trope, included among the contemporary examples of the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, i.e., ‘Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations’.”
Paris, 29 September 2023
In order to try preventing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from turning into a new genocide against the Armenians, the French weekly L’Obs launched an appeal for signatures to ask the international community to intervene in support of the civilian population. Richard Odier, president of the European office of the Wiesenthal Centre, is on the list of first signatories.
Read article:
https://www.nouvelobs.com/opinions/20230926.OBS78657/allons-nous-abandonner-une-fois-de-plus-les-armeniens.html
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For more information, contact csweurope@gmail.com
Article published in Le Parisien on September 28
French daily Le Parisien published a front-page article entitled “Antisemitism on Campus – a Troubling Survey” (“Antisémitisme à l’université - Le sondage qui inquiète”) It follows an IFOP investigation commissioned by the Union of Jewish Students of France (UEJF).
Richard Odier, president of the European office of the Wiesenthal Centre, commented, “this survey paints a revealing portrait of the current situation in most French universities. It is time to open a serious public debate on the risks represented by a populist and hateful political discourse that banalizes antisemitism... and the long-term consequences on the so-called ‘living well together’ – which should be one of the main objectives of the French republic.”
Excerpts:
par Richard Odier
Ce n’est pas l’excès de confiance qui nous fait parler d’espoir, Tikva en hébreu, après le meurtre barbare de Sarah Halimi. Nous évoquons ce mot, car nous savons que seuls le combat et l’engagement permettent d’agir face à l’antisémitisme.
A Report by Alex Uberti, Project Manager, Simon Wiesenthal Centre-Europe
Pollica, Italy, 21 September 2023
After its pilot project of July 2022, the second edition of the “Building DiverCity” boot camp took place in Pollica (province of Salerno, Italy) this September.
Alex Uberti presenting the workshop on antisemitism, and with fellow boot-campers.