Chirac: Sharon not welcome in France
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
PARIS, France (CNN) -- French President Jacques Chirac said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not welcome in Paris until he explains his appeal to French Jews to leave the country, a presidential spokeswoman said.
"A visit by the Israeli prime minister won't be looked at closely until the requested explanation is provided," the spokeswoman said.
Sharon said last weekend that French Jews should consider immigrating to Israel because of the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in France.
Sharon's remarks, which included the charge that France was host to "the wildest anti-Semitism" -- were misunderstood, Jacques Revah, the charge d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Paris, told The Associated Press. He said Sharon's comments were only a way of telling Jews they belong in Israel.
"Mr. Sharon had the same message for all Jews in the world, and if he pointed out France, it was to praise the position and the measures France has taken to combat anti-Semitism," Revah told the AP.
An invitation to visit France had apparently been extended to Sharon, but no date had been set, French officials said.
The French foreign ministry said Sharon's remarks were "unacceptable," and other officials described them as an "insult to France."
Leaders of some French Jewish groups also disagreed with Sharon's remarks and said the Israeli prime minister was not well-informed about events inside France.
But some French Jews said anti-Semitism is increasing.
Roger Cukierman, president of the Jewish Community of France, said French Jews are experiencing an unprecedented level of hostility.
"I was a child of 4 when the war started -- the second World War. I have some 'souvenirs' of that period," he said. "I could have never imagined that being a Jew in France would be a problem 60 years later."
More than 300 anti-Semitic attacks have been reported in France so far this year, which is more than in all of 2003.
Almost all of those attacks, the government said, were carried out by young, North African men.
Harassment every day
Shalom Ouaki is a Tunisian-born Jew who came to France as a boy. But he said he wants to leave the country because of anti-Semitism.
Two weeks ago, his son was badly beaten by a group of North African boys. They taunted him with anti-Semitic remarks and tore his skullcap from his head.
Ouaki said he is harassed every day. "I have to deal with the insults, the spitting as I pass, the aggressive body language," he said. "I always feel ill at ease walking in my neighborhood."
Muslims and Jews often live side-by-side in and around Paris.
Groups working to combat the problem say poor, jobless men from North Africa often take out their anger on Jews.
"Without a doubt, anti-Semitism is increasing in our country," said anti-racism campaigner Nasser Ramdane. "Those who deny it have no idea what they're talking about."
France has the world's third-largest Jewish community, which makes up 1 percent of the French population. But Jews in France are outnumbered almost 10-1 by Muslims.
Ramdane said the problem is compounded because many Jews and Muslims are made to feel like outsiders.
In 1980, a bomb outside a Paris synagogue killed four people. The then-Prime Minister Raymond Barre remarked that "two innocent Frenchmen were killed" -- implying the Jews killed weren't French. It was a slip of the tongue, but something the French Jewish community hasn't forgotten.
But despite the increase of anti-Semitic threats and attacks, Jewish community leaders have expressed satisfaction with government efforts to mount education programs to reduce anti-Semitism and increase security for potential Jewish targets.
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