French Jewish leaders are fearful that “the monster of anti-Semitism,” dormant in France for many years, may have been awakened by President de Gaulle’s remarks at his press conference of November 27, when he impugned the entire Jewish people through the ages, In the course of a political diatribe against Israel, the New York Times Paris correspondent, Lloyd Garrison, reported here.
Contributing to their concern is the result of a poll taken by the popular weekly, L’Express, which showed that nearly half of all Frenchmen agree with de Gaulle’s characterization of the Jews as an “elite” and “domineering” people who have created “ill will in certain countries at certain times,” Mr. Garrison reported. He added that French Jewish leaders “privately express a sense of shock and sorrow over the fact that, while most elements of the press rose to Jewry’s defense, most prominent politicians and civic groups did not.
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