Germany, France, Italy condemn anti-Semitism in anti-Israel protests

The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Italy on Tuesday condemned the anti-Semitism that has marred protests against Israel's conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, French media showed the burnt-out front of a kosher grocery shop in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, which is home to a large Jewish community, and clashes between pro-Palestinian marchers and riot police outside two synagogues.

"Anti-Semitic incitement and hostility against Jews, attacks on people of Jewish faith and synagogues have no place in our societies," the three foreign ministers – France's Laurent Fabius, Italy's Federica Mogherini and Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier – said in a joint statement issued in Brussels. "Nothing, including the dramatic military confrontation in Gaza, justifies such actions here in Europe."

Over 600 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting in Gaza. After 10 days of bombardment, Israel on Thursday also launched a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip to halt rocket fire out of the territory. So far, 29 Israelis, 27 of them soldiers, have died in the fighting. Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire so far have failed.

French authorities had refused to permit several pro-Palestinian protests scheduled for the weekend because they feared violence, but they have allowed a rally planned for Paris on Wednesday.

France has both the largest Jewish and the largest Muslim population in Europe. Flare-ups of violence in the Middle East often add to tensions between the two communities.

Speaking before Wednesday's rally, Israel's ambassador to France said it was vital that authorities concentrated their efforts on fighting anti-Semitism. "When you try to burn a synagogue, when you chant anti-Semitic slogans, it is an attack against the values of the French Republic. I think there is anxiety in the Jewish community," Yossi Gal told reporters. "We have complete faith in the French government to do everything that is necessary to protect citizens of Jewish origin."

In Germany, police in Berlin said they had detained 13 people after demonstrators pelted police with stones following a pro-Palestinian protest on Monday. Police also banned an anti-Semitic slogan used by protesters, according to media reports.

"We will do everything together and in our countries so that all citizens can continue to live in peace and safety, unoffended by anti-Semitic hostility," the ministers said.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) welcomed the statement from the three ministers. "The situation has reached unexpected dimensions. The wave of anti-Semitism in the course of pro-Palestinian demonstrations is getting worse from day to day," said Deidre Berger, director of the AJC Berlin Ramer Institute for German-Jewish relations.

 

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