French anti-terror petition misses out anti-Semitic attacks

A letter by French Muslims against radical Islam has provoked anger after failing to mention terror attacks against Jews among a list of recent atrocities in the country.

The petition, signed by dozens of Muslim academics and celebrities, was published in Sunday’s Journal de Dimanche under the title “We, French-Muslims, are ready to assume our responsibilities.” They say their initiative is part of “a cultural battle against radical Islam”.

The co-signatories list the slaying of an 85-year old priest, the attack on Charlie Hebdo’s offices, the Bastille Day horror in Nice, the bombing and shooting attacks in November and the murder of two police officers in June.

However, there is no mention of the attacks by Islamist gunmen on a kosher deli in Porte de Vincennes, which killed four Jewish hostages, or on a Jewish primary school in Toulouse, which killed a rabbi and three children.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt of the Conference of European Rabbis said the omission was “obvious” and “obscene,” adding: “Am I the only one who will ask the signatories if attacks on Jews are permissible? Without a public satisfactory answer, the letter is meaningless and should be rejected.”

In a reference to the title of the petition, the head of the French Jewish representative body said: “You’re ready to assume your responsibilities, but you are off to a bad start.”

Robert Ejnes, director of umbrella group CRIF, wrote on Facebook: “You have a long way to go, my friends: You need to understand one day that these anti-Semitic attacks were committed against *Jews*, who were targeted for being Jewish. You can’t avoid these anti-Semitic murders.”