A new anti-Semitism with two faces

Le Regard Libre N° 38 - Jonas Follonier

«In the popular 19^th In the Paris arrondissement, Jews are coming to the bitter realization that their daily lives have changed a great deal.» So begins the new report by the French weekly Le Point, published on April 6, is highly instructive on this extremely worrying phenomenon. Anti-Semitism, the perpetual scourge that will never cease to stain the history of humanity, is alive and well, and its new face is twofold: Islamic and far-left.

Certainly, «traditional» religious and racial anti-Semitism, developed over the centuries in various forms, still persists today in the discourse or thinking of certain intellectuals. Nevertheless, their aura is almost insignificant when compared with the source of most of the anti-Semitic violence, both physical and verbal, witnessed in recent years. A new anti-Semitism is born.

This is particularly true in French suburbs populated almost exclusively by Arab-Muslim populations, where «dirty Jew» has become the most widespread insult. But the scope of the problem is much broader. The Point quoted at the beginning of this editorial is particularly telling. Peter, resident of 19^th I grew up in the neighborhood. When I was a kid, my mother wouldn't let us stay at home. Today, it's the opposite. We Jews are afraid for our children.«

On the political front, the increasingly open anti-Zionism of the radical left is also cause for concern. Constantly verging on anti-Semitism, the new defenders of the wretched of the earth go so far as to reproach Israel for the memory of its dead, which supposedly drowns out the Palestinian victims. This discourse, which is very popular among young people, is accompanied by a frightening conspiracy theory and an anti-Jewish stance manifest in the likes of Dieudonné and Alain Soral, and is reflected in our social relations here in Europe. It is our duty to fight this new hatred with all our might.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com