A number of well known anti-Semites and the entire Poujadist Party, which distinguished itself in anti-Semitism, have disappeared from the French Parliamentary scene in the election campaign which ended this week-end.
French Jewish organizations feel that the new Chamber of Deputies will be the friendliest toward Jews in many years. They note that the 52-deputy Poujade group won no seats, while individual anti-Semites hiding under other party labels, like M. Tixer-Vignancourt, M. Isorni, who was Marshal Petain’s attorney, and M. Dides, former police commissioner, were defeated.
It was also pointed out that though the new powerful Union for the New Republic has not made its complete program public, its leadership and General Charles de Gaulle, to whom it is pledged, have made known that they will fight racism. A number of small rightist groups, nominally in support of Gen. de Gaulle, suffered severe setbacks during the campaign when their attempts to smear’ individual Jewish candidates were rejected by the candidates they endorsed.
The new Cabinet is also expected to be pro-Israel, with the exception of the ten Communist Deputies. The leader of the Union of the New Republic, Jacques Soustelle, has been openly pro-Israel for years, most recently advocating a direct military pact between France and Israel. The Socialists are led by Guy Mollet, another friend of Israel and Premier of France during the Sinai-Suez campaign. Many centrist leaders are also pro-Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
