The mayor of Marseilles signed a scandalous letter claiming Tel Aviv is located in a non-existent country called “Ex-Palestine.”
By United with Israel Staff
On Wednesday, France’s Bureau National de Vigilance Contre l’Antisemitisme (National Bureau for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism or BNVCA) demanded an explanation for a French official’s designation of Tel Aviv as located in “Ex-Palestine.”
The letter was sent to notify a recipient who was born in Tel Aviv of registration on an electoral list. The man contacted the bureau to complain.
Calling the letter “scandalous,” Eli Nahum, former anti-Semitism researcher for the Prime Minister’s Office in Israel and founder of The Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism-CFCA, wrote on his website, “For the city hall of Marseilles, Israel does not exist.”
He said the letter was part of continuous efforts by French politicians to gain Muslim votes. “The past few weeks have revealed that many elected officials, including some from the right, do not hesitate to patronize the Muslim community to get their votes,” Nahum wrote.
The mayor of Marseilles Jean-Claude Gaudin, UMP signed the letter denying Israel’s existence.
The BNVCA demanded from both the the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies-INSEE) to explain how the error occurred and immediately rectify it.
Specifically, the BNVCA demanded an explanation for “why the computer would have recorded” a false location.
(BNVCA National Bureau for Vigilance against Anti-Semitism)