Moshe Kantor
Moshe KantorFlash 90

European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor praised the French National Assembly’s decision which states that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism.

“We applaud this decision because it is logical and important,” Dr. Kantor said. “Anti-Zionism is almost always just a mask for hatred of Jews and Jewish collectivity and is just the most modern manifestation of the oldest hatred.”

“In the past, anti-Semites used religious, racial and ethnic slurs, and now they use national. Anti-Zionists coopt all the worst anti-Semitic libels and motifs throughout history against Jews and merely reapply them to the Jewish State.”

The motion passed with 154 in favor and 72 opposed in the parliament’s lower house. It was proposed by lawmaker Sylvain Maillard of LREM, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. The motion also called for the adoption of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.

“This is a very important step in the global fight against anti-Semitism and we hope that this will be a precedent that other nations will adopt,” Dr. Kantor continued. “There should be no hiding place for hate, because anti-Zionism is just a thin veil for anti-Semitism and it should be treated and thought of in the same way.”

Dr. Kantor is a leading advocate of a global approach to fighting anti-Semitism and has initiated an unprecedented event to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

On 23 January 2020, the Fifth World Holocaust Forum will take place in Jerusalem, and almost 40 heads of state have confirmed they will participate in this unique event. The event, titled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,” is being organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, also headed by Dr. Kantor, in cooperation with Yad Vashem, under the auspices of the President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of France Emmanuel Macron, President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella and President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen are among the leaders who have so far confirmed their attendance of this historic event.