Kesher Talk

French President calls American Jews slaves of Israeli government: American Jewish groups are outraged over French President Jacques Chirac’s reported accusations this week that they are under orders from Israel to wage an “anti-French campaign.”

“Chirac’s very accusation — that Jerusalem directed orders to American Jews — is reminiscent of ancient anti-Semitic stereotypes of worldwide Jewish conspiracies,” said American Jewish Congress President Jack Rosen. “I’m surprised that Chirac was so callous in protesting France’s lack of anti-Semitism that he invoked that classic canard.” Rosen also called the remark a “smokescreen” to hide the reality that the previous French government took no action against hundreds of violent anti-Semitic acts.

Chirac made the comments in a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Monday, according to Ha’aretz. During the meeting, Chirac also rebuffed Israel’s request that Hezbollah be placed on the E.U. terror list. (JTA)

UPDATE: OpinionJournal put it best: "Hey Jacques, here's a tip: If you don't want to get a reputation as an anti-Semite, don't go around complaining about Jewish plots!"

posted by Howard @ 7/31/2002 10:56:12 AM