Anti-Semitism in France: Why are attacks against Jews being exploited?

Double standards and victimization: how Jewish exception fuels rejection in spite of itself.

Every day, thousands of French people are attacked or pushed around amidst general indifference. But when the victim is Jewish, the media and institutions systematically refer to it as an "anti-Semitic" act , often without proof of a religious motive. This media focus creates an unbearable hierarchy of victimhood : why does an attacked Jew receive exceptional coverage, when a Muslim beaten up outside a mosque, a Christian vandalized in his church, or an atheist beaten up in the street do not trigger the same mechanisms of indignation?

Not to mention the daily insecurity of women of all religions!

Anti-Semitism: an abusive memorial pension?

God will recognize his own

Dieu reconnaîtra les siens

"Memorial laws and double standards: why is anti-Semitism resurgent in France? Is the Jewish exception creating rejection?"

1. Exceptional laws, a poison for social cohesion

The specific nature of the treatment of anti-Semitic crimes (memorial laws, measures such as the DILCRAH, aggravated sentences) sends an implicit message: the suffering of Jews matters more than that of others . Historically justified by the Holocaust, this positive discrimination is now becoming counterproductive :

• The Israeli state , which uses anti-Semitism to silence all criticism, is waging a genocidal war in Gaza (more than 40,000 dead, children crushed under bombs) without this calling into question the "sacred" status of Jews in France.

• Attacks on mosques (such as the Bayonne attack in 2019) or churches (the Nice assassination in 2020) do not provoke the same emotion or the same security measures .

Worse, this double standard fuels legitimate resentment among non-Jewish French people, who perceive a blatant injustice.

"'Anti-Semitic' attack or news item? The media victimization of Jews in question"

2. The boomerang effect: the American example

In the United States, institutional overprotection of Jewish communities (systematic accusations of anti-Semitism against critics of Israel, disproportionate funding of pro-Jewish associations) has provoked violent rejection in universities. Since the beginning of the massacre in Gaza:

• Jewish Zionist students are increasingly ostracized for their support of a settler-colonial state.

• Speeches "against anti-Semitism" are perceived as pro-Israel hypocrisy , which degrades the very image of non-Zionist Jews .

• The BDS movement and pro-Palestinian protests are gaining ground precisely because the system has forced its hand too much .

In France, the same mechanism is at work: the more we impose selective memory , the more we turn the younger generations against what they perceive as victim lobbying .

"Shoah, victim's income and Gaza: why the status of Jews in France divides"

3. What to do? For true republican equality

1. Abolish the memorial laws (Gayssot, Pleven, etc.) which create a justice system with variable geometry.

2. Stop the over-publicization of Jewish attacks : a crime must be treated as a crime, not as a symbol.

3. Condemn all forms of racism with the same firmness : Islamophobia also kills, as do anti-Christian attacks.

4. Denounce the instrumentalization of anti-Semitism to silence criticism of Israel (e.g., the dismissal of pro-Palestinian activists on false charges).

Conclusion: Universalism or Civil War

Jewish communitarianism as it is promoted today no longer protects Jews: it isolates them . The only solution is a return to real equality – no privileges, no victimization, justice blind to origins. Otherwise, France is heading towards a climate of hatred in which every community will feel wronged , with the social explosions that this implies.

The press is "instrumentalized," "divides" and raises "questions" about the lobbies at their head.

Etoile de David

A victimization that has become strategic and raises "questions".

4. The Holocaust victim’s income: exhausted political and moral capital?

Since 1945, the memory of the Holocaust has legitimately served to protect Jews from the return of racial hatred. But today, this memory is being used to justify undue privileges and silence all criticism.

A. The systematic accusation of anti-Semitism is now a weapon to discredit political opponents (e.g. Mélenchon called an "anti-Semite" for having denounced Israeli war crimes).

• The duty to remember has become a one-way moral obligation : the Holocaust is demanded to be taught as an "incomparable" crime, while other genocides (Armenian, Rwandan, Palestinian) are relegated to the background.

• Jewish associations (CRIF, Licra, etc.) enjoy privileged access to power , unlike other minorities. In 2024, 75% of procedures for "racism" concern anti-Semitism, while Islamophobic acts are three times more numerous (CCIF report).

B. The Gaza Effect: The End of the Monopoly on Innocence

The current war in Gaza has shattered the myth that Jews are only victims:

• Images of Palestinian children torn to pieces by Israeli bombs have made the rhetoric of "Jewish defense" unbearable.

• The younger generations reject the blame game : for them, the Holocaust does not justify apartheid in the West Bank or the massacres in Rafah.

• Anti-Zionism is no longer confused with anti-Semitism : a majority of French people (58%, IFOP 2024 survey) believe that Israel "abuses its victim status."

C. Consequences: Growing Resentment

By playing the eternal victim card , Jewish institutions have created:

1. Social weariness : the public increasingly perceives anti-Semitism as a priority threat (only 12% of French people cite it as the primary form of racism, compared to 43% for Islamophobia).

2. Radicalization of anti-Jews : Double standards push some to reject all Jews, including those who criticize Israel.

3. A weakening of the legitimacy of memory : by constantly shouting "the new Hitler" as soon as graffiti appears on a synagogue, we trivialize the real dangers.

Solution: Get out of the memory obsession

• Stop funding associations that fuel paranoia (e.g., the BNVCA, which classifies any criticism of Israel as "anti-Semitic").

• Teach the Holocaust as a historical crime, not as a metaphysical exception .

• Demand that Jewish institutions condemn Zionist extremism as strongly as they do anti-Semitism.

Conclusion: Equality or Memory War

The "victim's rent" allowed French Jews to benefit from unique protections under exceptional laws. But today, this privileged status is exacerbating their isolation . If Jewish elites truly want to fight hatred, they must renounce their exceptionalism and accept that justice must be the same for all—including Palestinians.