Resurgent anti-Semitism in France could escalate into a threat to the entire French Jewish community in the event of a political or economic crisis, according to a study prepared by the French scholar Eric Benmergui.
The 400-page study, which is summarized in the latest issue of "Eurofacts," published by the Paris office of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, pinpointed the upsurge in anti-Jewish feeling to the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967 and declared that one of the root causes of present day anti-Semitism is the rise and increasing influence of rightwing extremist elements in the country.
Furthermore, Jews were threatened by terrorists from both the right and left, who sometimes join forces, the study said, citing evidence of cooperation between Palestinian terrorists and neo-Nazis.
Pointing out that there were 235 separate reported incidents of anti-Semitism in France in 1980–culminating in the Rue Copernic synagogue bombing–and that perpetrators largely go unpunished, Benmergui called on the French Government to take for reaching countermeasures.
RIGHTWING ACTS WITH VIRTUAL IMPUNITY
The study asserted that neo-Nazis have infiltrated the French police and some army units, and it urged the government to institute more careful recruitment methods. Furthermore, Benmergui said, rightwing elements have gained footholds of influence not only in police and army circles, but in the civil service and even in some universities such as Assas in Paris–as well as support among the general public.
As a result, the study said, rightwing extremists act with virtual "impunity" in carrying out anti-Semitic actions in France. If the present situation continues unchecked, Benmergui went on, France could see the rise of "state anti-Semitism" accompanied by violent reactions among younger members of the French Jewish community.
"Any laxity in this area," Benmergui declared, "will only contribute to a separation of Jews from the nation." Referring to terrorist incidents against Jews, the author said that Frenchmen might one day adopt the view that "in order that terrorism disappear, its chosen target–the Jews–should themselves depart from France."
INCREASING ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS
The Benmergui study–prepared for the institute of political studies of Aix-En-Provence and the University of Law, Economics and Sciences of Aix-Marseilles and winner of the Human Rights Prize of the International League against Racism and anti-Semitism–pointed out that the 235 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 1980 represented a one-third increase over the total for the previous year. Since 1975, he said, such incidents have risen sharply: 53 reported in that year, 68 in 1976; 112 in 1977; 126 in 1978; and 175 in 1979.
Although anti-Semitism does not have a mass following in France and open, direct expression of it is not "respectable," Benmergui said, nevertheless, a poll conducted after the Rue Copernic bombing showed that 12 percent of those queried felt there were "too many" Jews in France. Prior to the synagogue attack, the study added, 17 percent of those participating in the poll expressed the same sentiment.
Benmergui said rightwing forces were providing a climate for anti-Semitism through promoting Holocaust revisionism–attempting to dismiss the World War II Nazi massacres as a "boax" or sharply minimizing their extent. Rightwing extremists also defend the war-time Vichy regime from charges of collaboration with the Nazis, he added.
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