CRIF's President Roger Cukierman and Socialist Party
leader François Hollande had a meeting termed "important"
by both parties. Welcoming the Socialist top brass, Cukierman
said, "We had a long love relation, followed lately by a falling
out of love relation. Because we are sentimental, we wish to go
back to the former." Both delegations were outspoken about their
difference of opinion.
Roger Cukierman highlighted CRIF's total support to secularism
and its total political neutrality.
CRIF criticized the Socialist Party for his past lack of
awareness to the surge of anti-Semitism while Socialists were
still ruling France. The Socialist delegation took a notice of
the criticism and said it decided to "increase its efforts in
training its militants and leaders. In the French regions where
our party is ruling, we will train and raise the awareness of the
youth and more generally speaking of the pupils and the students,"
said François Hollande.
CRIF's Roger Cukierman regretted the lack of support of the
public opinion to the demonstration against anti-Semitism
organized last May by the Left-wing group SOS-Racism. "This lack
of support is mirrored by the decisions taken by the courts of
justice," said Cukierman, referring to several recent cases
where lawsuits for anti-Semitism were thrown out of court.
Cukierman suggested that under age perpetrators of anti-Semitic
offences should be punished by law and be brought with their
relatives in front of the local mayors to hear a few words about
civic behavior. The Socialist leaders said this was a
"constructive idea" and promised to follow up on it.
CRIF's Director General Haïm Musicant said the
Socialist Party had an important role to play with the young
generation. Anne Hidalgo, First Deputy Mayor of Paris, agreed
there was a "generation gap. The Socialist Party is committed now
to train young people, especially in the suburbs (i.e. Muslim
youths). This action must involve a total unequivocal criticism of
terrorist actions. One must tell the young people that there is no
justification to terrorist actions," said Hidalgo.
Pierre Schapira, member of the European Parliament and in
charge of the City of Paris international relations, stressed that
Paris will name a square or a street after Theodor Herzl. He
reminded that since his inception as Mayor of Paris, Socialist
leader Bertrand Delanoë had unveiled in numerous schools of
the French capital city plaques in memory of the Jewish children
deported to the Nazi extermination camps. Roger Cukierman thanked
the Mayor of Paris for his "positive role". Schapira recalled that
Socialist then-President François Mitterrand was the first
French president to visit Israel and that the Socialist Party did
support then the peace initiative of Israel's then-Prime Minister
Menahem Begin.
François Hollande formally denied that Socialist
former Prime Minister Michel Rocard said the Balfour declaration
and the creation of the State of Israel were mistakes, as reported
earlier by the Egyptian press.
Pierre Moscovici, in charge of the Party's International
relations expressed the Socialists' support of the Geneva
Initiative. There is no contradiction between the Geneva
Initiative and the Road map, Moscovici said.
François Hollande stressed the "privileged" relations
between his party and the Left in Israel. A Socialist delegation
is due to leave "soon" for Israel. Cukierman and Hollande agreed
that a representative of CRIF would join the Socialist
delegation.
CRIF and the Socialist leaders agreed to set up a permanent
liaising commission. CRIF's representatives to this group are
Gérard Unger, Richard Prasquier and CRIF's Director General
Haïm Musicant. Stéphane Le Foll will lead the
Socialist representatives. The Liaising Commission is to
convene soon.
The Socialist delegation was led by the Party's First Secretary
François Hollande, Members of the European Parliament
Pierre Moscovici, Stéphane Le Foll, Pierre Schapira,
Vincent Peillon, Adeline Hazan, Annick Lepetit, First Deputy Mayor
of Paris Anne Hidalgo, National Bureau Member Jean Mallot and
President of the Leon Blum Circle Laurent Azoulai.
The delegation of CRIF included President Roger Cukierman,
Vice-President Roger Benarrosh, Director General Haïm
Musicant, Honorary President Henry Bulawko, Treasurer Francis
Kalifat, Members of the Executive Jean-Pierre Allali, Meyer Habib,
Gérard Unger, Michel Zaoui, President Advisor Dr Richard
Prasquier and Honorary Director Jacqueline Keller.
***
The "Socialist" Jews Lang,
Strauss-Kahn, Hollande ...and Royal
(non-Jew?)
