Paris, anyone?

[Anna]

What bit don't you believe? There's a few things in there.

Anti-semitism in France is well entrenched, from the Dreyfus affair onwards. A survey last year from the European Jewish Congress and Tel Aviv University found that France had more violent anti-semitic incidents in 2013 than any other country in the world. Jews were the target of 40 per cent of all racist crimes in France in 2013 – even though they comprise less than 1 per cent of the population.
Attacks on Jews have risen sevenfold since the 1990s.

[Serial_Apologist]

What bit don't you believe? There's a few things in there.

Any of it. "It" would only be disgraceful if anti-semitism met with ambivalence from the left, whatever it is you mean by the left. You need to substantiate that claim. And who is colluding with whom? The left purportedly being anti-semitic colluding with the far right? And of course I'm sure you're sure it's (the collusion I presume) not intended.

[french frank]

I think it's important to draw attention to the hypocritical motives of these political figures lest it be thought that they have suddenly acquired consciences of their own

I think that is subjective. You suppose them to have hypocritical motives, therefore they have. With so many political leaders present (including the Palestinian Authority President), did they all have hypocritical motives?

[Anna]

I think that is subjective. You suppose them to have hypocritical motives, therefore they have. With so many political leaders present (including the Palestinian Authority President), did they all have hypocritical motives?

Well .... I did wonder about the Minister from the UAE .......

Anyway, bit of levity, going back to the Fox News faux-pas about Birmingham, the best response I saw to that was "The refuse collectors in Birmingham are all Bin Laden"

[Serial_Apologist]

I think that is subjective. You suppose them to have hypocritical motives, therefore they have.

Erm... if Richard hadn't supposed anything of the kind, would that exonerate them all from having hypocritical motives?

[Richard Barrett]

You suppose them to have hypocritical motives, therefore they have.

No, it's the other way around. I wasn't talking about all of them. I don't know who they all were, for a start. But certainly a few of them have demonstrably atrocious records regarding freedom of speech in their own countries, and if that isn't hypocritical I don't know what is.

[Beef Oven!]

Any of it. "It" would only be disgraceful if anti-semitism met with ambivalence from the left, whatever it is you mean by the left. You need to substantiate that claim. And who is colluding with whom? The left purportedly being anti-semitic colluding with the far right? And of course I'm sure you're sure it's (the collusion I presume) not intended.

It feels that we have lost our sensitivity to anti-semitism. Socialists, barrack-room Marxists and the George Galloways of this world (some of the left) seem to be climbing over each other to attack Israel and in so doing, sometimes the difference between the Israeli state, and jewish people is overlooked and the two things conflated. I personally do not believe that George Galloway is anti-Semitic, and I believe that all the left-wing people I personally know (and as an exculpated Marxist, I know a fair few) are not anti-semitic and would not collude with such a thing. A personal view.

[Serial_Apologist]

Well .... I did wonder about the Minister from the UAE .......

Anyway, bit of levity, going back to the Fox News faux-pas about Birmingham, the best response I saw to that was "The refuse collectors in Birmingham are all Bin Laden"

I have to admit that I have no understanding whatsoever as to why France should be so prone to anti-semitism, Anna. I'm probably digging a great big hole for myself with this admission. I've heard many people deploring the lack or poor level of political debate in the UK, comparing it with France, in particular; yet it has always struck me that for all that, France is no nearer to solving its problems than we are in this country, and if anything seems even more (falsely) divided. I wonder if it has a lot culturally to do with the massive weight, compared with us, the French put on words.

[Anna]

No, it's the other way around. I wasn't talking about all of them. I don't know who they all were, for a start. But certainly a few of them have demonstrably atrocious records regarding freedom of speech in their own countries, and if that isn't hypocritical I don't know what is.

Yes, but ... Richard, this was a one-off symbolic occasion, don't persist in being such a cynical gloomy Marxist ... Some of us felt hope (short-lived I admit)

[Richard Barrett]

this was a one-off symbolic occasion

So that makes those people something other than hypocritical, because they then go back to persecuting free thinkers and journalists back home? I don't really see the logic of that.

Also maybe you'd like to read this regarding Netanyahu's "comforting" words to Jewish people in France.

And by the way being a socialist makes me more optimistic about humanity, not less!

[french frank]

Erm... if Richard hadn't supposed anything of the kind, would that exonerate them all from having hypocritical motives?

No, it would mean that we would have no notion of their motives. But in any case inconsistency doesn't have to mean hypocrisy. That's the subjective interpretation of others.

[ahinton]

It feels that we have lost our sensitivity to anti-semitism. Socialists, barrack-room Marxists and the George Galloways of this world (some of the left) seem to be climbing over each other to attack Israel and in so doing, sometimes the difference between the Israeli state, and jewish people is overlooked and the two things conflated. I personally do not believe that George Galloway is anti-Semitic, and I believe that all the left-wing people I personally know (and as an exculpated Marxist, I know a fair few) are not anti-semitic and would not collude with such a thing. A personal view.

OK, but regardless of your views upon those of socialist and barrack-room Marxist persuasion and "the George Galloways of this world" of your personal acquiantance and their evident lack of anti-semitism, there remains a lot of anti-semitism about, especially in France and I am not of the view that it matters too much whether those of anti-semitic persuasion do or don't fall into any of those categories that you mention. You are right that all too often "the difference between the Israeli state and Jewish people is overlooked and the two things conflated", as others here have agreed, but I'm not sure that this is a fundamental issue at least where the first dozen murders in Paris last week and the question of which national leaders did or did not attend yesterday's rally there in what capacity and why are concerned.

[Serial_Apologist]

It feels that we have lost our sensitivity to anti-semitism. Socialists, barrack-room Marxists and the George Galloways of this world (some of the left) seem to be climbing over each other to attack Israel and in so doing, sometimes the difference between the Israeli state, and jewish people is overlooked and the two things conflated. I personally do not believe that George Galloway is anti-Semitic, and I believe that all the left-wing people I personally know (and as an exculpated Marxist, I know a fair few) are not anti-semitic and would not collude with such a thing. A personal view.

One always has to take account of misrepresentation when hearing or reading of this. I too can only speak of the people I know or have known, and among them a number of jewish people, Marxist and non-, who have themselves been accused of anti-semitism for daring to condemn or even criticise the state of Israel for the record of its relations with Palestine.

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, but ... Richard, this was a one-off symbolic occasion, don't persist in being such a cynical gloomy Marxist ... Some of us felt hope (short-lived I admit)

At least cynicism protects one from feeling let down...

[Anna]

Also maybe you'd like to read this regarding Netanyahu's "comforting" words to Jewish people in France.

No, actually, I don't want to to even look at it. As I said before, upthread, not all Jews are Zionists, not all Jews support the Israeli government, most Jews just want to live in peace, get on with their neighbours, don't want to dread a knock at the door and wish their religion wasn't like a red rag to a bull to some.