Ilan Halimi
צילום רפרודוקציה: משטרת צרפת
Halimi Foundation gives 1st Tolerance Award
Foundation named after slain French-Jew Ilan Halimi holds its first Tolerance and Brotherhood ceremony in Paris. Ex-French President Jacques Chirac serves as keynote speaker, pledges to 'never forget'
PARIS – The Ilan Halimi Tolerance and Fraternity Award was given out for the first time Wednesday, in a ceremony held in the French capital.
The award was named after 23-year-old Ilan Halimi who was kidnapped and murdered in 2006 by an ethnic gang.
Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni and former French President Jacques Chirac attended the ceremony.
The Halimi family formed a foundation to commemorate their slain son, awarding a €15,000 grant to the local Jewish youth center in the Paris suburb of Ris-Orangif .
"I stand firm beside you in your war against the prejudice that resulted in this brutal murder," said Chirac, who was the keynote speaker.
"Anti-Semitism is not an opinion, it's a perversion. A perversion that kills. Remember," he ended his speech in Hebrew, "Remember and never forget."
Rabbi Michel Sarfati, founder to the Jewish-Muslim Friendship Association, was also present at the ceremony.
Since the murder, he has spent most of his time "traveling across France, especially in the suburbs, which are infected with violence and inter-religious tension."
Halimi's murder, he said, served as a wake up call for all Frenchmen: "There is an increasing demand for inter-religious dialogue… (the association) has recently opened five more youth centers, were more are underway."
