At Paris Institute for Oriental Languages, Students of Hebrew are Hiding

Inalco, the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Rue des Grands Moulins, Paris, July 7, 2015. Credit: Vysotsky via Wikimedia Commons. Vysotsky via Wikimedia Commons

‘Many students learning Hebrew today are hiding, simply because they know that there will be far-left or pro-Palestinian organizations after them to exert pressure,’ said a students association delegate.

By Yossi Lempkowicz, JNS

Students at Inalco, the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations in Paris, have been the victims of antisemitism.

Those who are studying Hebrew are hiding. Amid slogans of “Israel the murderer” and applause, students in the Hebrew department are keeping a low profile. In the corridors, pro-Palestinian posters, placards and graffiti abound.

According to the reports, several posters call for a boycott of a student list described as “genocidal.” Parents and students denounce discrimination, pressure and intimidation.

“Many students learning Hebrew today are hiding, simply because they know that there will be far-left or pro-Palestinian organizations after them to exert pressure,” Yvenn Le Coz, a students association delegate, told the CNEWS channel.

Jewish students are assailed with slurs such as “Terrorist Israel” and leaflets are distributed supporting the unfounded theory that all Jews of Ashkenazi origin are descended from the Khazar people.

Several complaints have been lodged, but none of the students wished to comment on the situation. Le Coz denounced a “real system of censorship, a system of terror, a totalitarian system that has been established at Inalco, but not only there.”

“They make students feel excluded. My son is scared and wants to concentrate on his studies without being dragged into the controversy of the conflict. But with them, all that becomes impossible,’’ one student’s mother said.

After being challenged by students from the Hebrew department, Inalco has filed a complaint for incitement to hatred and violence on the grounds of origin, ethnicity or religion.

Inalco, the world’s largest provider of language training courses, is a French Grand Etablissement institution whose coverage spans 104 languages of Central Europe, Africa, Asia, America and Oceania as of 2024.

Originally published by European Jewish Press.