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Too little, too late

When a wave of anti-Semitic attacks grabbed headlines last year, [Chirac] downplayed the problem. Now, against the deadly background of the Nov. 15 synagogue bombings in Turkey, he showed a sense of urgency that, for many French Jews, has been far too long in coming. Statistics show a marked rise in anti-Semitic acts from the autumn of 2000 to late 2002, and a considerable dip over the last year or so. There’s been better security at Jewish institutions. And, until recently, fewer people speaking up. “People felt there was no response from the government, and even stopped reporting attacks because it led nowhere,” says Pauline Bebe, a rabbi in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. “Now they feel there’s a will to stop this.” Chirac is determined to swing the full weight of the French state at the problem. Good for him. But he may find that it lies beyond his reach.

Time magazine explores French antisemitism.

8 thoughts on “Too little, too late

  1. Statistics show a marked rise in anti-Semitic acts from the autumn of 2000 to late 2002
    You mean the timing of these attacks in France coincides time-wise with Sharon’s infamous visit to the Temple Mount, and the 2nd Intifada ?
    imagine that
    I think when people discuss ‘French antisemitism’ but don’t distinguish between native French and immigrants from muslim former french colonies they are intentionally distorting what’s going on, because it’s such an obvious distinction to pay attention to.
    “not only does Israel not protect the Jews from anti-Semitism, but quite on the contrary – Israel manufactures and exports the anti-Semitism that threatens Jews around the world.”
    from Uri Avnery‘s essay ‘‘ September 28th, 2002

  2. babylonian, just curious…is there anything you like about israel.
    Sure
    Right now these people are my heroes of the day
    But I also like the refuseniks, Shministim, the kibbutzim, Meretz, B’Tselem, Yesh Gvul
    Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Gush Shalom, the original socialist/humanist intentions of the secular zionists, the “Israeli John Browns” profiled in this book, and, well, you probably get the idea by now

  3. so you do believe in a jewish state?
    I would have thought that was clear already, but No, I really don’t. I don’t believe in Christian states, Muslim states, Hindu states or Jewish states, or any kind of ethnic/religious nationalism. It’s either humanist, secular and democratic or it’s bad, in my opinion.

  4. but these things are realities.
    Yes just as real Anti-Semitism is a reality but I can’t accept that it’s legitimate or that it shouldn’t be fought
    do you believe that it is possible for war and racism to evaporate from human civilization.
    They may not ever go away but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fight to minimize them
    There are many things like that. Child abuse will never go away completely but we still try to minimize the harm to children to the best of our ability – and to do otherwise would be a crime.
    If my brother kills someone, I would still love him. But I couldn’t support the crime.

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