'Violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon.' Villepin
Photo: AP
Villepin: France stands resolutely at Israel’s side
French prime minister tells World Jewish Congress governing board, ‘fight against anti-Semitism in France absolute priority,’ criticizes IDF flyovers in Lebanon
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin offered unwavering French support Sunday for Israel amid security threats, but criticized Israeli military flights over Lebanese territory.
France “Stands resolutely at the side of Israel” in the midst of new flare-ups in Mideast violence, and Israeli security will require an end to conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Villepin said. “The halt to all violence is indispensable,” he told a meeting of the World Jewish Congress’ governing board, meeting for the first time in Paris.
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Villepin criticized continued Israeli over flights of Lebanon following the 34-day war this summer between Israel and Hizbullah fighters, calling them a “Violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon.”
French officials have regularly complained that the over flights violate a UN ceasefire resolution that paved the way for an end to the fighting.
The World Jewish Congress held the meeting in the French capital to reach out to French Jews unsettled by the brutal torture and death of a young Jew near Paris early this year.
Villepin said the fight against anti-Semitism in France was “An absolute priority” for the government, and noted that attacks against Jewish religious and cultural sites have declined this year.
“But our vigilance must remain intact, because this fight, we will win it over the long term,” He told attendees at a dinner at the French Senate. French Roman Catholic and Muslim leaders joined the two-day gathering, which began late Saturday, condemning anti-Semitism and calling for dialogue among religious leaders.
“Muslims are naturally attracted to the ideas of peace, dialogue and tolerance, and friendship and brotherhood of peoples,” said Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Paris Mosque and leader of the French Council of the Muslim Faith. Boubakeur said he was concerned about a possible rise in anti-Semitism in France that has taken the form of attacks against schools, synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in recent years.
'I fear waves of anti-Semitism'
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, said Mideast tensions play a “Clear” role in fanning anti-Semitism in France - and he worries about a “Reactivation of durable prejudice.”
The World Jewish Congress selected Paris for the rotating site for its board meeting because France is home to the largest population of Jews in Western Europe, group leaders said.
Rabbi Israel Singer, chairman of the congress’s policy council, said French Jews find themselves often in a “Mercurial” situation: “At one moment, Jews in France view themselves as being on top of the world, at another they see themselves as being in the worst possible situation.”
Many Jews in France were shaken by the death in February of 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, who was found naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks in the Essonne region south of Paris. He died on the way to the hospital after being held captive for more than three weeks.
The killing, which police suspect was carried out by a gang that had demanded a ransom, rekindled concern about anti-Semitism in France. Eighteen people were detained by police in a sweep of suspects.
“I’m not afraid of individual incidents as violent - and as ugly as they are. I’m afraid of waves of anti-Semitism; I don’t see any here in France,” Singer said. Israeli security, the European Union’s role in the Middle East peace process, and the fight against anti-Semitism were among subjects discussed at the meeting.
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, a US Nonprofit group, showed WJC leaders a new, multilingual advertising campaign denouncing anti-Semitism that features hip-hop industry veterans Jay-Z and Russell Simmons. It is to be aired across Latin America and Europe. World Jewish Congress leaders were to meet with French President Jacques Chirac on Monday.
