Israel\'s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres came under heavy criticism this week for two separate statements that many perceived as damaging to Israeli and Jewish interests around the world. At a meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem last week, Peres reportedly blamed Israeli policies and actions for causing Arab leaders to incite their masses to hate and murder Israelis. The comments led Zionist Organization of America President Morton A. Klein to respond,
\"It is false and irrational to blame Israel for the Palestinian Arabs\' anti-Jewish incitement, which has been going on for more than a century… It is astonishing that an Israeli minister would be mouthing sentiments that are all too similar to the statements made by the racists and Israel-haters at the Durban Conference last year.\"
In another incident this week, Peres seemed to underplay increasing French anti-Semitism when he told French President Jacques Chirac that he is confident that France is safeguarding its Jewish citizens. At a press conference following the meeting, Peres told reporters, \"I am certain that France is not anti-Semitic, neither historically nor currently, and I am convinced the French leadership is staging a serious and determined battle against anti-Semitism in France.\"
Many French Jews were quick to denounce Peres\' comments about France\'s past relationship with Jewry, including Roger Cukierman, head of the CRIF, the French Jewish community organization. Cukierman noted that France has a history of anti-Semitism, including the Dreyfus affair and the Vichy regime. The current French government has also been cited for not taking necessary steps to prevent further attacks against Jews. Recent attacks include the firebombing of a synagogue in a Paris suburb and an assault on a Jewish school bus with children on board.
Referring to current anti-Semitism in France, ADL spokesperson Laura Kam-Issacharoff told Arutz 7\'s Josh Hasten today, \"It is imperative that the French government forcefully and publicly acknowledge what is going on in the Jewish communities of that country.\" She explained that there has been a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic incidents in France - especially by Arabs and their sympathizers as a result of the Oslo War launched against Israel 17 months ago. The ADL recently wrote to President Chirac and urged him to \"take all necessary steps to curb the violence against French Jewry\" in the current \"crisis.\"
Responding to Peres\' comments, Kam-Issacharoff said, \"While I understand his constraints right now [as Foreign Minister], he needs to be perhaps somewhat more sensitive to how the many [Jews] in France are feeling.\" The ADL reports that in Paris alone, there were 330 anti-Semitic incidents between September 9, 2000 and November 20, 2001, or almost an incident a day.
Despite Peres\' refusal to acknowledge the problem, the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency recently put together special benefit packages for French Jews wanting to leave France as a result of the anti-Semitism there and immigrate to Israel.
\"It is false and irrational to blame Israel for the Palestinian Arabs\' anti-Jewish incitement, which has been going on for more than a century… It is astonishing that an Israeli minister would be mouthing sentiments that are all too similar to the statements made by the racists and Israel-haters at the Durban Conference last year.\"
In another incident this week, Peres seemed to underplay increasing French anti-Semitism when he told French President Jacques Chirac that he is confident that France is safeguarding its Jewish citizens. At a press conference following the meeting, Peres told reporters, \"I am certain that France is not anti-Semitic, neither historically nor currently, and I am convinced the French leadership is staging a serious and determined battle against anti-Semitism in France.\"
Many French Jews were quick to denounce Peres\' comments about France\'s past relationship with Jewry, including Roger Cukierman, head of the CRIF, the French Jewish community organization. Cukierman noted that France has a history of anti-Semitism, including the Dreyfus affair and the Vichy regime. The current French government has also been cited for not taking necessary steps to prevent further attacks against Jews. Recent attacks include the firebombing of a synagogue in a Paris suburb and an assault on a Jewish school bus with children on board.
Referring to current anti-Semitism in France, ADL spokesperson Laura Kam-Issacharoff told Arutz 7\'s Josh Hasten today, \"It is imperative that the French government forcefully and publicly acknowledge what is going on in the Jewish communities of that country.\" She explained that there has been a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic incidents in France - especially by Arabs and their sympathizers as a result of the Oslo War launched against Israel 17 months ago. The ADL recently wrote to President Chirac and urged him to \"take all necessary steps to curb the violence against French Jewry\" in the current \"crisis.\"
Responding to Peres\' comments, Kam-Issacharoff said, \"While I understand his constraints right now [as Foreign Minister], he needs to be perhaps somewhat more sensitive to how the many [Jews] in France are feeling.\" The ADL reports that in Paris alone, there were 330 anti-Semitic incidents between September 9, 2000 and November 20, 2001, or almost an incident a day.
Despite Peres\' refusal to acknowledge the problem, the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency recently put together special benefit packages for French Jews wanting to leave France as a result of the anti-Semitism there and immigrate to Israel.