The French Moral Legion

No one moralizes better than the French, but where are they when you really
need them? French political leaders have been busy denouncing Israel for
defending itself against suicide bombers, but perhaps they should save some
of that Gallic moral temper for the worst outbreak of anti-Semitism in Europe
in 60 years.

France is home to 600,000 Jews, Europe's largest Jewish community, and in
recent days many of them have been under assault. Synagogues have been set
aflame in Strasbourg, Lyon and in Brussels, Belgium. One in Marseilles was
burnt to the ground on Easter Sunday, and Molotov cocktails were tossed at
another on Tuesday. A pavilion at a Jewish cemetery in Alsace was destroyed
this week, while a flammable liquid was thrown at a synagogue in the same
town. A fracas broke out at Orly airport in Paris Tuesday between pro- and
anti-Israeli demonstrators.

French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin responded to this by saying on radio that
it is "extremely difficult" to guarantee security at all places where Jews
gather. That's certainly how Jews in Tel Aviv now feel.

Mr. Jospin also kept his moral outrage in check by adding that the best
antidote to the violence is "reflection by citizens, understanding that
passions that flare up in the Middle East must not flare up here." Reflection
does wonders for people who are reflective, to be sure, so perhaps Monsieur
Jospin will reflect on the impact of his own political leadership on such
religious animus.

Let's stipulate that it should be possible to criticize Israel without being
tarred as anti-Semitic, just as any European or American Jew should be able
to praise the Jewish state without being accused of dual loyalty. To make
either charge admits to having run out of ideas.

But opinion in Europe, especially official opinion, is now so one-sided
against Israel that it's bound to have some public consequences. After Israel
launched an attack late last week to isolate Yasser Arafat, without harming
him, European governments rose in unison with condemnations. The European
Union, which took years to respond to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, had no
trouble finding unity on its pro-Arafat call for an Israeli withdrawal from
Ramallah. The speaker of the Greek parliament accused Israel of "genocide"
against the Palestinians.

French President Jacques Chirac said that "any attack on [Arafat's] ability
to act, or on his person, would be extremely serious." Does Mr. Arafat's
ability to act include dispatching suicide bombers? As usual, Monsieur le
President was outdone in verve by his foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, who
said Israel was trying to "asphyxiate Arafat."

All of this contrasts with the temperate reactions to the previous week's
suicide bombings. And all of this from the same French government that
declined to recall its ambassador to Britain when he created a ruckus last
December by referring to Israel as "that s----- little country." Ambassador
Daniel Bernard added, "Why should the world be in danger of World War III
because of those people?"

Political leaders set a moral tone, as the French like to remind George W.
Bush, and it's hard to believe all of this doesn't feed into latent
anti-Semitic sentiment. Especially given Europe's terrible history, one would
think its leadership would be careful before declaring that Jews are
responsible for everything terrible in the Mideast.

Amid the latest violence and campaigning for re-election, Mr. Chirac did
visit a synagogue in Le Havre. "These acts are unimaginable, unpardonable and
unspeakable and should be pursued and condemned as such," he said. Perhaps
he's realized that the French don't have standing to criticize Jews abroad if
they can't protect them at home.

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Updated April 4, 2002

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