National Rally is the best option to defend French Jews against Islamism and radical leftism, National Rally President Jordan Bardella said during a speech at the Thursday International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, committing France to fight antisemitism as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition.
“National Rally led by Marine Le Pen is the best shield for the Jews of France,” said Bardella.
Bardella made a commitment to the audience that “France will fight antisemitism everywhere, in all of its forms.”He recalled the massacre of Jews in France at the hands of Jihadists, including the 2012 Toulouse Massacre and the 2015 Paris Hyper Cacher Massacre.
“After each of these tragedies, we promised ‘never again,’” said Bardella, yet the military had not yet been deployed to protect synagogues.
While the opponents of Israel should have been silenced by the barbarity of October 7, antisemitism had instead been reinvigorated.
“Scenes from another age,” such as Stars of David painted on buildings and people being mistreated because they wore a kippah, were now seen in France, bemoaned Bardella.
In some areas, teaching the Holocaust in schools had become impossible, and France was inflicted with demonstrations calling for intifada.
Blame for resurgent antisemitism
Bardella laid the blame for resurgent antisemitism at the feet of Islamists and their far-left allies. He explained that the Islamists provided the fanatics, and the far Left institutionalized radicalism.
The National Rally leader warned that Islamism is the totalitarianism of the 21st century, and it wants to conquer societies.
In the face of the resurgence of anti-Jewish hatred, Bardella said that it was necessary to work together. He saluted Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli for inviting the Patriots for Europe party to the conference, which both affirmed their importance in Europe and indicated their responsibility in the war against barbarism.
France had strong ties to Israel not just diplomatically but was also connected through its hosting of the largest population of European Jewry and the great love that French-Israelis had for France.
Bardella said that, while visiting areas impacted by the October 7 massacre, he felt the full weight of the event that took the lives of 50 French citizens, comparing it to the September 11 terrorist attacks and the Bataclan Massacre.
“What was supposed to be a day of celebration became a pogrom of unimaginable barbarism committed by Hamas,” said Bardella.
Bardella began his speech by noting that antisemitism “for us” was described by the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and that while every government was open to criticism, one doesn’t criticize a government when calling for their state’s destruction.
“Anti-Zionism is nothing more than an alibi for antisemitism,” said Bardella.