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CNN Live Today
New Wave of Anti-Semitic Violence in Country With Largest Jewish and Islamic Communities in Europe
Aired April 04, 2002 - 12:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Some of the affects of the fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians is spilling over into France.
CNN's Jim Bittermann reports on a new wave of anti-Semitic violence in the country with the largest Jewish and Islamic communities in Europe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials in France say they do not want the anger of the Middle East played out here. But earlier this week, it looked unavoidable. As supporters of Yasser Arafat returned to Paris from Ramallah, pro- and anti-Israeli factions got into a fistfight at the airport. The police had their hands full keeping the two sides apart.
More seriously, French police are having an even harder time combating a series of anti-Semitic attacks against Jewish synagogues, schools, cemeteries and butcher shops. This synagogue in Marseilles was burned to the ground, and Jewish leaders count nearly two dozen lesser attacks against other synagogues.
Jewish community leaders have been warning about the upsurge in violence for months, and on the eve of elections here, the government has begun to share their alarm, dispatching 1,100 additional police to protect Jewish neighborhoods.
But, Roger Cukierman, a community spokesman, says it must go further.
ROGER CUKIERMAN, PRESIDENT, JEWISH REP. COUNCIL: Things can only be stopped only if the police are arresting the aggressors and making a strong example with a lot of publicity.
BITTERMANN: Cukierman says strong statements against Israeli tactics by the French prime minister and foreign minister, along with media coverage of the Middle East conflict, have inflamed the situation in France. And there are growing protests by French Muslims angered by the Israeli government's actions against the Palestinians.
(on camera): The Palestinian representative here has urged Arabs not to translate their hatred for the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon's into anger against the Jews of France. But a Jewish leader says those committing the attacks have neither the inclination nor interest in make such a distinction.
(voice-over): Those who have seen anti-Semitism in Europe at its worst, like French lawyer Sam Pisar, believes the climate against the Jews now is as bad it has been since World War II. Pisar, a Polish- born Jew who survived Auschwitz and two other concentration camps, and lived more than half his life in France, says he never thought he would again face a time when Jews were persecuted here.
SAM PISAR, ATTORNEY: Not enough is being done to stem the whole thing. People are just letting it go, and praying that it will not explode. I think it could become much worse if it does not get careful, rapid attention.
BITTERMANN: In a country with the largest Jewish and Islamic communities in Europe, the authorities will have to pay careful attention to keep the situation under control.
Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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