Today, there is a lot of anger, disgust and worry among our country's Jews. They are under the impression that some dams have broken and that, under cover of an attack against Zionism, it is the Jews who are being attacked in all legal impunity.
It is not surprising therefore that the need to react and act is beginning to express itself.
But the thirst for action must not be counterproductive. The young people who wanted to express their anger against Ilan Halimi's murderers and who got together through Facebook, and went to shout at the opening of the trial, found themselves manipulated by a movement whose violence and ideology are incompatible with the values of Judaism and Zionism that we more or less all defend. They shocked Ilan's family and scared our most sincere friends.
But the harmful effects are not always so obvious. Should we have protested more vigorously against the anti-Zionist list for the European elections? We were sickened by it, by its name, its members, its language and photos which are at the lowest level of idiotic anti-Semitic hatred, unfortunately channelled, thanks to its friends in the legal profession, so that it was difficult to prosecute. The earlier convictions of Dieudonné (the leader) did not disqualify him from being on a voting list. We shall ask the new government to set up legal instruments that will make it possible to avoid such a disgrace. But CRIF, the despicable figure's chief target, has reckoned that a public controversy with even greater media coverage was exactly what he was seeking in order to mobilise his electorate, and so CRIF refused to play into his hands. Indeed, despite the commotion created by this list and the events in Gaza, the list lost 30% compared with the anti-Zionist Europalestine list in 2004. The fact is that Dieudonné was not able to appear sufficiently a victim of the system and particularly of CRIF to mobilise his potential voters in his defence.
The natural need to act must be tempered by thinking through the issue of effectiveness on the playing field of actions and reactions which is the ordinary run of our political and media life.
At no time should this call our values into question, at no time should this mean that we must keep silent in defending what we feel is right. It is CRIF's duty, as the representative of the Jewish community in the political sphere, to act responsibly - while ensuring that we avoid simply courting popularity, which would only be ineffective - by bringing these claims and doing so in the most effective way possible, whether public or not. We shall not fail to do so.
Consultation and, if possible, union are more necessary than ever today. CRIF will play its part so that the voices of the community leaders and their initiatives make themselves heard and are discussed. It welcomes the first signs of a discussion on the return of the Consistory. Cohesion around CRIF is a guarantee that such actions will have positive consequences.
Richard Prasquier
English
Français