Haïm Korsia constate l'apathie de la société française envers l'antisémitisme

"Ce qui nous a frappé c'est le sentiment d'indifférence dans la société française." 

Jerusalem Post via Antisemitism in Europe:

Scènes d'intifada à Paris.

French society seemingly apathetic to anti-Semitism, says chief rabbi

France's government has reacted strongly to a rising tide of anti-Semitic acts this year but French society seems indifferent to the threat they present, the country's newly elected chief rabbi said on Tuesday.  Haim Korsia, who was elected in June, recalled the huge crowds that demonstrated in Paris in 1990 after a Jewish cemetery was desecrated in the southeastern town of Carpentras.

This summer, he told journalists, there was no similar reaction from civil society following attacks on synagogues and protests against Israel's offensive in Gaza, during which some marchers shouted "death to Jews" and "Jews out".

"There were a million people in the street then," he said, referring to 1990. "In France (now), have you seen a march of support saying it's inadmissible to attack houses of worship?  What struck us was the sense of indifference in the society." [...]

Korsia rejected the idea that the violent protesters were only demonstrating against Israeli policy towards Palestinians, saying the conflict was a pretext to express their hatred toward Jews. "Peace there would not solve the problem - they would remain anti-Semitic," he said.

He also said the youths who firebombed the kosher grocery in Sarcelles near Paris threatened not only Jews but French society in general, noting they also attacked a local police station.

The chief rabbi said the rising number of Jews leaving France for Israel this year reflected in part a delayed reaction to the 2012 killing of four Jews and three soldiers by an Islamist. Families need time to organize the move, he said.


Some 3,300 Jews quit France for Israel last year, a 73 percent increase on 2012, and officials estimate over 5,000 will leave this year. Many cite the stagnating economy as well as rising anti-Semitism as a factor in their decision.

Korsia said rabbis had to make greater efforts to stay in contact with the Jews who stayed, especially those who rarely came to synagogues, to help keep Jewish life alive in France.