CRIF delegates elected Richard Prasquier as the French group’s new president. Prasquier will replace Roger Cukierman, who presided over the umbrella organization of French Jewry for the last six years. Prasquier, whose family fled Poland after World War II and immigrated to France, heads the French Yad Vashem bureau. He’s involved in humanitarian causes including the Rwanda and Darfur crises, as well as interreligious dialogue. “Defending Israel also means fighting anti-Zionism, which is the engine behind new forms of anti-Semitism,” Prasquier told JTA. “It is especially important in France, in view of the large Jewish community, as well as the large Muslim community.” Prasquier, who spent several years in the United States, hopes to develop good working relations with U.S. Jewish leaders. “We have a lot to learn from the American Jewish community, and they may also have a bit to learn from us,” he said.
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