Free Republic

President-elect of France's umbrella of Jewish communities warns of alarming anti-Semitism, vows to fight hard. French Jews are experiencing the most difficult situation they have encountered since the end of World War II, the newly-elected president of France's umbrella of Jewish communities said. Francis Kalifat, 64, said Sunday that his first priority as president of CRIF is to fight against the anti-Semitism that he said was responsible for the situation he described. "The fight against anti-Semitism is our main cause because French Jews are in the most difficult situation they have experience since World War II," Kalifat said during an...

France's Jewish community, the largest in Europe, chose a Sephardi Jew as its leader Sunday for the first time in half a century. Francis Kalifat, 63, said his priority as president of the CRIF umbrella grouping of Jewish organizations was to "fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms." He succeeds 79-year-old Roger Cukierman for a three-year term, breaking the dominance of Ashkenazi Jews in the organization which groups together 70 associations.