Acceleration in Anti-Semitic Violence

Anti-semitism, after taking a long-deserved rest, decided not to absolve itself after all, of its self-assigned responsibility to the world by disappearing entirely and has undergone a renaissance, particularly in Europe in the last decade.  Aided and abetted, no doubt, by immigration to Europe of those fleeing persecution and poverty in their home countries, yet taking with them the cultural imperative to hate and threaten Jews.

France is one of those countries, where anti-Semitism has been bubbling along, pleased with its growing acceptance.  Official France declares that all French citizens are equal, and that it values and protects its French Jewish population.  Yet anti-Semitism has always enjoyed a comfortable home in France.  The French ambassador to Israel was accused recently by Israeli MK Danny Danon, of complacency in the face of growing anti-Semitism.

Violent anti-Semitic incidents occurring in France have come to a boiling point in the last five months; an increase of 53% over the same period in the year 2011.  Jews wearing distinguishing symbols of their Orthodox faith are fearful of appearing in public lest they become the target of violent attacks.  A meeting of the Knesset Aliyah Committee discussed the issue, having invited the French Ambassador to attend, fully discussed their alarm over the issue.

And if anyone was ever present at such a meeting with an unfortunate surname that simply served to amplify the issue, it is that of the French Ambassador to Israel, Christophe Bigot.  The name couldn't be more contextually absurd if someone with a wicked sense of humour had deliberately thought long and hard to produce such an unambiguous word-play on an issue of such grave and dangerous threats to the safety and security and reputation of Jewish citizens.

"You are responsible for anti-Semitism in your country.  Do not let the violence against Jews raise its head - stop the anti-Semitism before it is too late", Mr. Danon charged Mr. Bigot.  Who took the trouble to explain that, perplexingly enough, following the murders of a rabbi and three children on March 19 at a Jewish school in Toulouse, anti-Semitism appeared to rise steeply.  Sixty percent of attacks in the period in question occurred within the 20-day period that followed the Toulouse murders.

France, assured Ambassador Bigot, had invested half-a-million Euro for security in its battle against anti-Semitism.  MK Danon mentioned 275 incidents of anti-Semitism in the five-month period in question.  Over half of which were categorized as murder, attempted murder, and alternately, other types of atrocious violence meant to do physical harm to those identified by their attackers as being Jewish.