{"id":25,"date":"2015-02-26T13:33:39","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T12:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2021-01-14T21:13:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T20:13:16","slug":"france-the-cukierman-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/en\/france-the-cukierman-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"France\/ The Cukierman Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><span style=\"vertical-align: inherit;\"><\/p>\n<p><style type=&quot;text\/css&quot;>\n<!--\n \/* Font Definitions *\/\n@font-face\n\t{font-family:Cambria;\n\tpanose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;\n\tmso-font-charset:0;\n\tmso-generic-font-family:auto;\n\tmso-font-pitch:variable;\n\tmso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}\n \/* Style Definitions *\/\np.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal\n\t{mso-style-parent:&quot;&quot;;\n\tmargin:0cm;\n\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\n\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\n\tfont-size:12.0pt;\n\tfont-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\n\tmso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\n\tmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;\n\tmso-fareast-language:EN-US;}\n@page Section1\n\t{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;\n\tmargin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt;\n\tmso-header-margin:36.0pt;\n\tmso-footer-margin:36.0pt;\n\tmso-paper-source:0;}\ndiv.Section1\n\t{page:Section1;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>Are French Jews turning to the Far Right&nbsp;? Hardly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><style type=&quot;text\/css&quot;>\n<!--\n \/* Font Definitions *\/\n@font-face\n\t{font-family:Times;\n\tpanose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;\n\tmso-font-charset:0;\n\tmso-generic-font-family:auto;\n\tmso-font-pitch:variable;\n\tmso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}\n@font-face\n\t{font-family:Cambria;\n\tpanose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;\n\tmso-font-charset:0;\n\tmso-generic-font-family:auto;\n\tmso-font-pitch:variable;\n\tmso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}\n \/* Style Definitions *\/\np.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal\n\t{mso-style-parent:&quot;&quot;;\n\tmargin:0cm;\n\tmargin-bottom:.0001pt;\n\tmso-pagination:widow-orphan;\n\tfont-size:12.0pt;\n\tfont-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\n\tmso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;\n\tmso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;\n\tmso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;;\n\tmso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;\n\tmso-fareast-language:EN-US;}\n@page Section1\n\t{size:595.0pt 842.0pt;\n\tmargin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt;\n\tmso-header-margin:35.4pt;\n\tmso-footer-margin:35.4pt;\n\tmso-paper-source:0;}\ndiv.Section1\n\t{page:Section1;}\n-->\n<\/style>\n<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>In a rare attempt to solve an interreligious crisis, President Fran&ccedil;ois Hollande of France summoned last Tuesday to his office at Elys&eacute;e Palace both the chairman of the Representative Council of French Jewish Organizations (Crif), Roger Cukierman, and the head of the National Council of Muslim Worship (CNCM), Dr Dalil Boubakeur.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>On the previous day, Dr Boubakeur had charged Cukierman of anti-Muslim prejudice and accordingly declined to attend the yearly Crif dinner, where Hollande was to deliver a speech. In an interview with Europe 1, a mainstream radio station, Cukierman had pointed earlier the same day that all perpetrators of anti-Jewish violence in France were Muslims. While he had also insisted that only <em style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;>&laquo;&nbsp;a small, a very small minority&nbsp;&raquo;<\/em> among French Muslims was involved, this statement was held by Boubakeur to be <em style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;>&laquo;&nbsp;irresponsible&nbsp;&raquo;.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>Other observers scolded Cukierman for an additional remark about Marine Le Pen, the president of the Far Right National Front. While distancing himself from the National Front, Cukierman expressed the view that Marine Le Pen was personnally beyond reproach when it came to antisemitism, and that the reason why she was not invited to the Crif dinner, along with other political leaders, was that she had not disapproved in a clear way of her father Jean-Marie Le Pen&rsquo;s own anti-Jewish statements.<span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;>&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>Cukierman&rsquo;s words were understood by some journalists or political activists, especially on the Left, as a veiled endorsement of Marine Le Pen and her political program. Moreover, the same observers contend that the French Jewish community as a whole is moving to the Far Right. According to Ifop, a leading pollster, 13,5 % of the Jewish voters supported Marine Le Pen in the 2012 presidential election, a sharp increase from the 2007 presidential where only 4,3 % of the Jewish voters had supported Jean-Marie Le Pen. Still, French Jews were still less behind a national average of 18 %. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>Clearly, Marine Le Pen has been successful with French voters at large in recasting the National Front as a <em style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;>&laquo;&nbsp;democratic&nbsp;&raquo;<\/em> party, that cannot be confused with neo-Nazi groups in Hungary (Jobbik) or Greece (Golden Dawn). In a by-election in an heretofore solidly Leftwing consistuency in Eastern France, National Front candidate Sophie Montel carried almost 49 % of the vote on February 10. She was able to rally both previously Leftwing voters and about one half of the local conservative voters.<span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;>&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>Moreover, a report on antisemitism in France released three months ago by Fondapol (the Foundation for Political Innovation), a respected think-tank shows that National Front supporters, while somehow more receptive to antisemitism than other political milieux, are on the whole not antisemitic.<\/span><span style=&quot;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-fareast-language:FR&quot;> <\/span><span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-fareast-language:FR&quot;>61 % of the National Front voters say they see Jews as full fledged nationals just like other French citizens. While lower than an global average of 84 %, it is still an almost two thirds majority. A fact all the more relevant considering that only 23 % of the National Front voters see French Muslims as true nationals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; \/><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;\nmso-fareast-language:FR&quot;>Likewise, 68 % of the National Front voters agree that fighting antisemitism and racism <em style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:normal&quot;>&laquo;&nbsp;in order to prevent another Shoah&nbsp;&raquo;<\/em> must be a national priority. Again, it is lower than a national average of 85 %. But it is a very high proportion nevertheless. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;\nmso-fareast-language:FR&quot;>Even if crude antisemitism is not the issue, most French Jews still feel uneasy about the National Front. They are concerned that a National Front government may restrict some Jewish practices (like shechitah, Shabbath or wearing a yarmulka) in the name of secularism. They note also that Marine Le Pen has never expressed explicit support for Israel (even if its voters tend to be rather pro-Israel)&nbsp;and that it indulges in problematic anti-UE, anti-American and pro-Russian politics. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; \/><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;\nmargin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><strong style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal&quot;><span style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Times;mso-fareast-language:FR&quot;>&copy; Michel Gurfinkiel, 2015<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;><em style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-style:\nnormal&quot;><span style=&quot;font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&quot;>&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<style type=&quot;text\/css&quot;>\n<\/style>\n<p style=&quot;margin-left:1.0cm&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;>Are French Jews turning to the Far Right&nbsp;? Hardly.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/en\/france-the-cukierman-incident\/\">&nbsp;&raquo;&nbsp;Read more about: France\/ The Cukierman Incident &nbsp;&raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[655],"tags":[775],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1473,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25\/revisions\/1473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michelgurfinkiel.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}