‘Historic Decision’: French Lawmakers Rule Anti-Zionism is Anti-Semitism

Israel’s leadership lauded the French parliament after it adopted a resolution on anti-Semitism which defines anti-Zionism as Jew-hatred.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

Israel’s leadership lauded the French parliament after it adopted a resolution on anti-Semitism which also defines anti-Zionism as a form of Jew-hatred.

The National Assembly in France on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution that endorses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.

A majority of 154 French parliament members voted in favor of the resolution, 75 voted against, and 43 abstained.

The French government is already an IHRA member, and its various ministries have begun applying the working definition.

The IHRA, an intergovernmental group comprised of 31 nations, adopted a definition in 2016 based on the 2005 European Monitoring Centre (EUMC) Working Definition, which describes anti-Semitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews” that can also target the state of Israel.

The definition states that “criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as anti-Semitic,” but accusations of dual loyalty and the use of double standards against the Jewish state, as well as tenets of anti-Zionism like the denial of Jewish rights to self-determination, are also considered manifestations of anti-Semitism.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz welcomed the resolution, which he said “confirms President [Emmanuel] Macron’s remarks that anti-Zionism is the new face of anti-Semitism.”

He called on other countries to “follow in France’s footsteps.”

Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog applauded and saluted the French National Assembly and Macron on “their historic decision that is a moral beacon against anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.”

“The homeland of Emile Zola who led the fight against anti-Semitism is standing tall in supporting the right to live a Jewish life without fear, and in unequivocal support of Zionism and the State of Israel,” he added.

World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald Lauder said the resolution is “a crucial step in the fight against the age-old hatred of antisemitism. For too long too many have used the excuse that their obsessive criticism of Israel stands exclusive from their otherwise positive feelings for the Jewish people. Those days are now over.”

The resolution passed with a large majority despite campaigning by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel organizations which worked to thwart the vote.

The Platform of the French NGOs for Palestine (PFP), an umbrella organization of some 40 groups, in the past year has issued a statement against the IHRA definition and sent several letters to Macron, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, and the members of the French Parliament.

Their website features a form for French citizens to write letters to members of Parliament against the decision.