France to adopt IHRA definition
FRENCH PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron has said his country will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to address rising acts of hatred against Jews.
Speaking at the annual dinner of the French Jewish umbrella group Crif, he said: “For the first time in many years, antisemitism is killing people again in France.”
He said French authorities “did not know how to react effectively” and labelled the inaction a “failure”.
France recorded a 74 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents in 2018 compared to the previous year and Jewish leaders have been calling for the major political parties to adopt the definition.
The announcement comes after thousands of protesters took to cities all over France to demonstrate against the recent spate of antisemitic incidents, which included an attack on 96 Jewish graves at a cemetery last week.
Lawmakers in France originally resisted the definition, which has already been adopted by the European Parliament and several European Union member states.
“Our hope is to see this definition integrated into French law,” Crif leader Francis Kalifat said. “Today, the main vector for antisemitism is anti-Zionism and this definition states clearly that anti-Zionism isn’t just criticism against
Israel.”