In a letter to the mayor, Dr. Shimon Samuels, Simon Wiesenthal Center Director for International Relations, said that there is “a growing pandemic of antisemitic stickers in and around the Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est area - the principal Paris train stations, in 10th arrondissement.”
Samuels added that “many of the stickers call for ‘Separation between the French State and CRIF’ (the French Jewish Leadership Council). Others, equating the State of Israel with Nazi Germany, cover lamp posts.”
"Calls for BDS (Boycot, Divestment, Sanctions) against Israel, are stuck on banks - particularly HSBC and LCL - and insurance agencies front windows” are particularly common slogans in and around Paris. Samuels added that “local residents in the area claimed that waves of these stickers date back to July 2019, and are even visible on Google Street View.”
The Wiesenthal Center noted that "no steps have been taken to remove these ugly expressions of hate, that tarnish the beauty of Paris nor to penalize the perpetrators," adding that "calls to the Police or LICRA (the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism) and other associations" have led to constant referrals to lawyers and Paris cleaning services.
“Responses so far, regarding the Jews and the Jewish State, display ignorance or deny the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism, that includes BDS and the equation of Nazism with Israel as, indeed, antisemitic and thus actionable under French law,” the Center mentioned.
"We urge you, Madam Mayor, to take necessary and early action to clean up this sticker virus that spreads hate across the city," Samuels concluded in his letter.