French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced “a new plan to combat antisemitism” during a speech at Paris’s Buffault Synagogue.Speaking at a ceremony on Monday following the Jewish New Year, Philippe said that the plan, set to be implemented in 2018 to 2020, will be “conceived and developed in close partnership with civil society and obviously [the Jewish community].”One of the key objectives, the French premier explained, is to fight online antisemitism. In particular, he added, there is a need to counter hate that has “overrun social media” and which should not remain unpunished.“A sustainable fight against antisemitism necessarily calls for prevention, through education and culture,” said Philippe.In recent years, France has suffered a wave of Islamist terrorist attacks, including several targeting Jews. Philippe mentioned the kidnap and murder of Ilan Halimi in 2006, the killing of four Jews outside Toulouse’s Ozar Hatorah school in 2012, the attack on the Hyper Casher kosher supermarket in January 2015 and the murder last April of Sarah Halimi in Paris as examples of “the ultra-violence of Islamist terrorism and barbarism.”“When someone attacks a French citizen because of his background or his beliefs,” Philippe continued, “he attacks France and what it holds most precious: its way of life, its values, its heritage... And when you insult a French citizen for these reasons, you insult the memory of those who have given their life to ensure that these values prevail.”
French PM outlines strategy to combat ‘shameful’ antisemitism
French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced “a new plan to combat antisemitism” during a speech at Paris’s Buffault Synagogue.
