Posted on 05/07/2002 6:28:20 AM PDT by jalisco555
NEW YORK (AP) - Abbey Goldberg was supposed to be in France this week, vacationing in places such as Avignon and the Loire Valley - all part of a romantic trip he'd been planning with his wife for months.
Instead, the couple stayed in the United States, unnerved and angered by a spate of anti-Semitic acts in France this spring, ranging from a synagogue arson to physical assaults.
``We had plane tickets, hotel reservations, everything,'' he said. ``But with all the anti-Semitism going on, we didn't feel comfortable going. ...There also was a bit of a desire not to spend money in a country that was tolerating this kind of thing.''
His anxiety is shared by many American Jews who are delaying trips to France. Although reports of anti-Semitism in Germany, Belgium and elsewhere have increased amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, tourists say the French incidents are particularly jarring.
Arson destroyed a synagogue in Marseille, and gasoline bombs have been thrown at about a dozen other synagogues and cemeteries. Attackers beat Jewish teen-agers with sticks and metal bars while a kosher butcher shop was shot at.
French authorities say the incidents are at the highest level since World War II.
``Usually France is one of our most popular destinations. Not this year,'' said David Lawrence, director of Kosher Expeditions, which caters to Jewish travelers. ``We've canceled all the tours.''
Rachel Kaplan, who offers tours on Jewish history for English speakers in France, said she receives several e-mails each week from Jewish Americans wondering whether it's safe to visit.
``I basically tell them that the French government is alerted to the situation. All Jewish areas have plainclothes and uniform police,'' she said.
Even French tourism officials are having to reassure prospective visitors.
``We're getting a couple of questions a day about it,'' said Robin Massee, director of communication USA for the French Government Tourist Office. ``Mainly the questions are, 'Is it safe to travel,' which of course we're saying it is.''
French authorities have promised tough action against violence. And indeed, it's been a few weeks since the most serious incidents, though many tourists remain concerned.
Other Jews feel that avoiding France is the wrong reaction, particularly since the country has its own large Jewish population - an estimated 600,000, the largest community in western Europe.
During difficult times like this, they say, it's important to be visible.
``I'd feel safer in France than in Israel with what's going on there now,'' said Herbert Roskind, a retired businessman who is planning a European vacation this summer. ``If you want to take a political stand, you should go there and show that you support the Jewish communities there.''
Others point out that blacklisting France will make little difference given the small size of the Jewish population.
Jews make up only 2 percent of Americans, and travel agents, aside from those specifically specializing in Jewish travel, report no broad trend in trip cancellations beyond a broader pullback in overseas traveling in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
Still, anger and apprehension remain. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, last month issued a travel advisory for France and Belgium because of the recent attacks.
For many American Jews, the issue is also about what they perceive as France's historical tendency toward anti-Semitism and racism.
An estimated 75,000 French Jews perished during World War II and France's Vichy government collaborated with the Nazis. France also rarely aligns itself politically with the state of Israel, and has been one of its most vocal European critics in the current crisis.
The strong showing by extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the presidential election intensified the doubts, even though he ultimately lost the final ballot to the more mainstream incumbent President Jacques Chirac. Le Pen has called the Holocaust a detail of history and called for immigrants to be expelled from the country.
The French government has said it will punish those responsible for the attacks. But for many American Jews, that is not enough.
``I'm absolutely livid, and I think other people should be too,'' said Danielle Lewis, who had planned a honeymoon in France, but is now looking elsewhere. ``I've lived in France, I'm a Francophile and I love French food and wine. But I don't want to go there. Why would I want to give money to people who want to kill me? ``
I'll probably do that next winter. Plan to rent a plane in FL, then do some exploring in Louisiana and maybe Texas.
True, but De Gaulle did a 180 in 1967 switching French sympathies to the Arabs. France has been consistently and outspokenly hostile to Israel ever since.
Fact #1: there has been antisemitic acts in France perpetuated by muslim teenagers. The socialist governement, which has been consistently lousy on crime issues, has been slow to realize (and consequently, to admit) that this violence was not just part of rising crime in general, but that there was a real specific agressivity targetted at the Jews. One reason for this is that, when the French hear the word "antisemitism", they tend to look at the reactionnary right, while here the problem came from the muslim community, mostly leftist (for those who are involved in politics). Hence the first state of denial from the French governement: since there was no problem from the reactionnary right, how could there be an antisemitism problem? Since then, the police has been sent in large numbers to protect the Jewish community, with good results. I don't see how this could justify the fact that France is now globally accused of antisemitism.
Fact #2: The accusations of antisemitism against France have first been launched by Sharon himself (who does not live in France...) and by his interior minister when the French governement became critical of his policies. This has been, by the way, a consistent part of Sharon's strategy: any foreigner who his critical of his policies is accused of antisemitism... These accusations were relayed by a prominent spokesperson of the French Jewish community, Daniel Cuckiermann, who happens to be Sharon's lapdog: he has a "Saron's quote of the day" on his website. Cuckiermann became the main provider of informations for American journalists. Problem is, Cuckiermann is not only Sharon's unofficial spokesperon in France, he is also an hysterical who compared the situation with the Kristallnacht (drawing harsch criticism from the French Jewish community itself) and later said that thanks to Le Pen's strong showing, "the muslims would keep quiet now" (drawing even harscher criticism from the Jewish community itself, again). Excuse-me, but I really don't think that these "sources of information" are unbiased, do you?
Fact #3: A French ambassador in te UK made an highly inappropriate remark. One unique remark, made by one unique individual, in a private party, in an unknown context. Apparently, sufficient to trigger hysteria among francophobes, persuaded that old-style antisemitism was back on the whole French nation.
Fact #4: the campaign of the American press on France's antisemitism, later relayed by francophobic sketches in the SNL and others, started, based on the sole elements mentioned above, and especially on Cuckiermann's "informations".
Fact #5: The union of French Jewish students published a detailed study of antisemitism in France in majour French newpapers. Conclusions: there has not been a surge of antisemitic acts between 2001 and 2000, antisemitism in France is at a very low level, the integration of jews in France is exemplary. Of course, American journalists were not there to listen, or probably considered that these kind of information would not sell enough paper...
Fact #6: There are regularly major members of the French government which are jew, including prime ministers, and neither the French people nor the media even notice. This is what real integration is about. Compare this situation with all the comments generated by Liebermann's candidature to vice-presidency in the US.
This being said, France is having a real problem with its huge unintegrated muslim community, and the hatred of these people is targetted at jews first. Because of this, the fear felt by jews in France is perfectly understandable and justified. What is not justified are the accusations according to which France would be globally antisemitic, as well as the complacency and the lack of seriousness and honesty of the American press.
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