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Far Left French MP Accused of Antisemitism Over Parliamentary Question Targeting IDF Participation
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by Ben Cohen
LFI MP Sylvie Ferrer alongside party leader Jean-Luc Melenchon at a demonstration in Paris. Photo: Reuters/Amaury Cornu
A far left member of the French parliament has been accused of spreading antisemitism by calling on the French authorities to take measures against French citizens who serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
In a question on Tuesday directed at the Ministry of Justice, Sylvie Ferrer — elected to the French parliament in June 2022 as a representative of the far left La France Insoumise (LFI — “France Rising”) — called on the government to take action against the “direct and indirect participation of French citizens in illegal acts.”
Ferrer’s question highlighted the participation of French citizens “in Israeli military programs and indirect financial support for the IDF.” She named five organizations — Sar El, Marva, Mahal, Garin Tsabar, and Atouda — as arranging for “international volunteers to join the Israeli armed forces.” She expressed concern over her realization that “it seems that the French are the most numerous to enlist, representing 43 percent of the volunteers, 90 percent belonging to combat units.”
The MP then complained that “these programs are the subject of publicity on French territory, for example during their presentation on May 26, 2017, at the Grande Synagogue de la Victoire in Paris by an IDF officer. Furthermore, there are a number of associations and support groups that allow the transfer of French donations to IDF soldiers. They benefit from tax deductions due to their status.”
Ferrer went on to state that the “direct or indirect participation of French people in military maneuvers in the Levant raises questions in view of the successive condemnations of the State of Israel by international law.” She added that France “does not seem to be taking the slightest action on its own territory and with its own means to stem this phenomenon, which is said to be proliferating because of the presence of persistent antisemitism in the country.”
Several Jewish leaders voiced outrage over Ferrer’s parliamentary question, among them Yonathan Arfi, president of the umbrella organization Crif.
“Raising the suspicion of the dual loyalty of French Jews: that is basically the only objective of this lying and error-ridden text from LFI MP Sylvie Ferrer,” Arfi posted on the X/Twitter social media platform.
“The anti-Israel obsession on the far left is once again targeting the Jews of France and their attachment to Israel. Jews are French like any other. Sorry, they are not accountable to an LFI MP!” he continued.
