As Israel faces opposition at the international Court in The Hague, European countries are dragging their feet and refusing to support Israel • Rabbi Margolin: “Too many European governments are not really prepared to fight the plague of anti-Semitism.”
Against the backdrop of the dramatic rise in anti-Semitism around the world, and in the context of the public court decision against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which was requested to issue warrants for the arrest of the political leadership in Israel, world Jewish umbrella organizations are taking the reins and confronting the lack of support shown by European governments.
The European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents hundreds of communities across the continent, recently held a forum of senior Jewish lawyers and jurists, for the purposes of developing the legal tools to increase enforcement against displays of anti-Semitism in Europe.
The president of the Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, delivered a harsh admonishment, saying, “Most unfortunately, too many European governments are not really prepared to fight the plague of anti-Semitism that has reached unprecedented levels since October 7th.”
His words follow the announcement of the French foreign ministry expressing its support for the verdict of the International Criminal Court against Israel. He said that “France supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in any situation.”
As mentioned, the announcement raised great outrage in Israel and among the Jewish communities in Europe, who responded by saying that while the governments of Germany and England condemn the attempt to draw symmetry between the Israeli government and Hamas, and that US President Joe Biden has described the legal step against Israeli officials as “scandalous,” French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné nevertheless has chosen to stand by the side of those who preach hostilities, and said that “Israel is a democratic state that must honor international law in the conduct of war.”
According to Rabbi Margolin, such statements open the path to increasing anti-Semitism: “It begins with people being afraid or hesitant to file claims against perpetrators of anti-Semitism, and continues with a lack of response or an ineffective reaction from the law enforcement authorities.”
Community leaders in Europe stated that it appears as though “France prefers other considerations rather than the fight against global jihad.” They highlighted the survey conducted by the European Forum at Hebrew University ahead of International Holocaust Day, which comprised a representative sample of approximately 1,000 Israeli adults.
The survey showed that among European countries, Israelis fear anti-Semitism mostly from French society, which revealed a significant difference opposed to its counterparts in Europe with England standing at 40%, Poland at 38%, while Germany received only 21%.
At the same time as these recent anti-Israel statements, France embarked on an attack on Israel’s ally, Azerbaijan, regarding the violent protests that broke out in New Caledonia, an archipelago of islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
France claims that Azerbaijan backs the local population who is striving for independence. The island, situated 16,600 km from France, was conquered by the French 150 years ago. It is a French colony today, for all intents and purposes. Baku has denied any involvement in the riots, and claims that France is looking for someone to blame in a situation where the rights of the indigenous people are infringed.
The Azerbaijani Jewish community adds that “Again, the two countries, Israel and Azerbaijan, find themselves in the same boat facing the double standards of the French government, that pretends to protect minorities and condemns “colonization policy”, while being itself a colonizer. In practice the French impose their laws on the people in their colony and clearly prefer political considerations that serve their interests and hurt both Israel and Israel’s close ally, Azerbaijan.”
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel