Judaism is under a dual assault: A physical assault coming from Iran and its proxies and an ideological assault coming from the West.
Over the weekend, France's President Emmanuel Macron linked the two when he announced that France has stopped providing arms to Israel that are used in its war against Hamas and encouraged others to do the same.
This is a stunning development with historical consequences. War is a zero-sum game. When one wants to support a party in war, it can either provide weapons to that party or try to prevent weapons from being used by the opposing party fighting it.
A year ago, the idea of Macron pleading with the world to effectively support Hamas in its war against the Jewish state would be unthinkable and dismissed as paranoia. But on October 5th, 2024, on the eve of one year anniversary of the October 7th attack, it really happened.
The Elyse Palace subsequently assured that France is still committed to the physical defense of Israel, pointing to its role in intercepting the Iranian missile attacks on October 1st and April 14.
Indeed, the bigger impact of Macron’s October 5th announcement may not be the potential loss of $33 million of French arms used to fend off the physical attack on the Jewish state, but the backwind Macron just provided for the ideological assault on Judaism, which is rapidly turning into an existential threat to the survival of Judaism.
Macron’s statement comes four months after France pledged to collaborate with the International Criminal Court, whose prosecutors are seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, as well as preparing the ground for the mass arrest of Israeli soldiers. This would mark the second time in 80 years that France complied with arrest warrants issued against Jews on mass.
From follower to leader in the assault
Until this weekend, France was hiding behind the posture that it is “just following orders” - just as it did in the 1940s. But with Macron’s call to embargo the Jewish state, France is no longer a passive follower. It just provided a powerful boost to the ICC efforts, certifying that, indeed, the actions of Israel in Gaza are so malignant that they warrant a global embargo on the Jewish state.
Moreover, Macron’s October 5th plea provides legitimacy from a major global power to the various other fronts in the ideological assault on Judaism. It confirmed, not only in words but also in actions, that there is a bad actor - the Jewish state, that must be dealt with. It brings back the “Jewish Question”, which has been dormant for the last 80 years, and is now remerging in the form of the “Jewish state question: - What to do with those badly-behaving Jews?
Indeed, France never came to terms with its role in the 20th Century attempt to eradicate Judaism. So much so that in 2020, Macron declared his plan to honor Marshal Petain, the murderer of the Jews of France and head of the collaborative Vichy government, for his role in World War I. Macron later retracted the plan under pressure from the United States.
Perhaps it is time for France to accept responsibility for the murder of its Jews and, for its own sake, pay compensation to its Jewish victims, just as Germany does. Perhaps if France pays for its role in the 20th Century assault on Judaism, it would be less enthusiastic about taking a leading role in the 21st Century assault on Judaism.
But France is not likely to do so on its own volition - both due to its politics and pride.
Looking to America
The only way to curb French escalating aggression is through the United States.
When the ICC was laying the groundwork in 2020 to arrest US military personnel, President Trump issued tough sanctions against the ICC prosecutor, employees, and families. But President Biden has not only failed to sanction the ICC for its 2024 effort to arrest Israelis but also looked the other way when France pledged to collaborate with the ICC's “outrageous” actions, to use President Biden’s words.
As Macron made his new “outrageous” plea on October 5th, all eyes are now on President Biden. Will the US look the other way again? Or will it hold France accountable for its efforts to flip the Western world against the country that is defending it from the reign of terrorism?
When 2024 began, the Jerusalem Post asked various writers, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, to share their thoughts about how a post-October 7th world would look in a special magazine called The Day After. My article in that magazine was titled “Post-Gaza, Israel will fight a multi-front ideological war with the West.”
Nine months later, As the Jewish New Year began and as Israel was fighting a brutal physical war for its survival, Macron reminded us that the biggest threat to the survival of Judaism emanates from the ideological assault that is coming from the West and is accelerating at an alarming pace.
Gol Kalev is the author of the new book The Assault on Judaism: The Existential Threat is Coming from the West (www.TheAssaultonJudaism.com). He is chair of the Judaism 3.0 think tank and the author of Judaism 3.0: Judaism’s Transformation to Zionism (Judaism-Zionism.com)