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France determined to fight anti-Semitism, improve Israel ties
(and a large bridge is for sale in Brooklyn)NEW YORK - French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier promised U.S. Jewish leaders Thursday that his country would wage an intransigent battle against anti-Semitic violence and improve its relations with Israel. (The neo-Vichys are alive and spray painting Jewish tombstones) Barnier met a group of U.S. Jewish community leaders to explain government measures to counter a surge of attacks on Jewish targets in the Paris region and the provinces. "I told them of the total determination of the president [Jacques Chirac] and the government to fight all forms of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia," Barnier told reporters. He acknowledged an increase in violence against Jews and said France was reacting with tougher legislation, more severe sentences, political action and education. The number of anti-Semitic incidents has more than doubled in the last year, according to official figures, partly due to tension between France's 600,000 Jews and 5 million Muslims, the largest such minority in Europe. Jewish leaders and public officials blame Muslim youths for the rise in attacks. Barnier also said he would visit Israel next month to improve bilateral relations that have often been strained over France's support for the Palestinians and continuing ties with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, one of the Jewish leaders who attended the 90-minute meeting, praised the change in France's attitude in the last year. "Compared to last year's meeting [with then Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin] there was a major difference in mood and tone. The French government has stopped denying that there's anti-Semitism," Foxman told Reuters. "The president has spoken out clearly. The government is struggling clearly. There still remains not enough action, arrests and prosecutions but things are better," he said. He also said there had been important changes in France's relationship with Israel, even if differences remained over Arafat and the West Bank separation fence. "[Barnier] was very sincere and very convincing that France will become more of a voice against anti-Semitism in the Arab world," Foxman added. Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-09-25 |
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