Indignant France sees ulterior motives in Sharon's emigration plea

Flagg

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Mon Jul-19-04 12:59 PM
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Indignant France sees ulterior motives in Sharon's emigration plea

Edited on Mon Jul-19-04 01:00 PM by Flagg

INDIGNANT FRANCE SEES ULTERIOR MOTIVES IN SHARON'S EMIGRATION PLEA
Received Monday, 19 July 2004 12:24:00 GMT

PARIS, July 19 (AFP) - France reacted with indignation Monday to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's call for Jews to flee to Israel, with politicians, press and religious leaders angrily rejecting his claim that the country is prey to the "wildest anti-Semitism."

<SNIP>

But French Jewish leaders, who have persistently denounced the growing violence against their 600,000 strong community, rallied against the comments, with Richard Prasquier of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) accusing Sharon of "pouring oil on the fire in an unacceptable fashion."
"Some Jews are indeed asking questions about leaving. That is true. But in order to leave one must be of the opinion that the situation is out of control. And that is not the case," he said.
According to figures from the Jewish Agency, the body responsible for "aliyah" or immigration to Israel, some 2,300 French Jews made the move in 2003, a slight drop on the previous year. However the figure was less than 1,000 three years ago, before the start of the second Palestinian intifada.
<SNIP>

The newspaper said that by slurring France's name with none-too-subtle associations with the wartime Vichy era, the prime minister wanted to remove the country's legitimacy as a partner in the Middle East peace process.
"His assault is aimed at undermining the credibility of President Jacques Chirac, one of the European Union's most eloquent advocates for a Palestinian state," it said.
The left-leaning Le Monde agreed, saying that since the September 11 attacks some American Jewish organisations have been bent on portraying France as a country "complicit in the Holocaust, where not a single Jew can feel safe. For two years these accusations have poisoned not just Franco-American relations, but Franco-Israeli relations too."
The evidence, according to Le Monde, is that Sharon is concerned less about provoking a rush of emigrants from France -- which he knows is unlikely -- than in "disqualifying France from the political game in the Middle East."
"The message the Likud leader wants to pass to the American organisations is the following: that a political resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a matter between Israel and the US, and that Europe -- sullied by its pro-Arab prejudice -- must remain confined to its role as banker," it said.

http://www.ttc.org/200407191224.i6jcood01586.htm

- Good to see French Jews calling Sharon on his bullshit	geek tragedy	Jul-19-04 01:01 PM	#1
- Good to see Sharon calling the French on their bullshit.	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 01:06 PM	#2
- riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight	Flagg	Jul-19-04 01:08 PM	#
- Why is it that French Jews are overwhelmingly siding with Chirac?	geek tragedy	Jul-19-04 01:08 PM	#3
- And you know this, how?	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 01:12 PM	#5
- Well, their leaders are defending Chirac, they are staying at home, and	geek tragedy	Jul-19-04 01:16 PM	#7
- Nothing like facts and common sense	Malikshah	Jul-19-04 01:47 PM	#19
- He's a "man of peace,making the world a better place"	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 01:10 PM	#4
- Bwahahaha..	physioex	Jul-19-04 01:22 PM	#11
- That's a fake quote. It's been debunked.	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 01:24 PM	#13
- I wish someone would debunk the quote I provided too	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 01:53 PM	#21
- Sorry, I can't help you there.	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 02:14 PM	#24
- I know you can't	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 02:33 PM	#26
- one brick at a time	number6	Jul-19-04 07:51 PM	#34
- brick by brick	dudeness	Jul-20-04 01:18 AM	#44
- oh bullshit..	Aidoneus	Jul-19-04 01:16 PM	#6
- Exactly...	physioex	Jul-19-04 01:20 PM	#9
- Deleted message	Name removed	Jul-19-04 01:22 PM	#10
- Come you can do better...back it up with some facts...EOM	physioex	Jul-19-04 01:23 PM	#12
- "Ariel's da man, doin' the best he can...to make the world a better place"	Aidoneus	Jul-19-04 01:26 PM	#14
- Reach out and touch...Somebodys hand....	physioex	Jul-19-04 01:30 PM	#15
- That only applies on his good days.	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 01:43 PM	#17
- Deleted message	Name removed	Jul-19-04 09:37 PM	#38
- Truth hurts...	newyorican	Jul-20-04 07:00 PM	#53
- A LIKUD fan, are we? The right wing extremists of Israel.....	loudsue	Jul-19-04 01:19 PM	#8
- uh, yeah ok	IA_Seth	Jul-19-04 01:33 PM	#16
- You say that Sharon is	Snoggera	Jul-19-04 01:50 PM	#20
- If you have a pulse, you already know.	Jim Sagle	Jul-19-04 02:22 PM	#25
- Your posts make mine look like a Tolstoy novel	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 02:34 PM	#27
- well, maybe cause, sometimes, in some ways, france can be...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-19-04 02:36 PM	#28
- Yep,and they're not alone in that	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 02:52 PM	#30
- not to mention...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-19-04 07:47 PM	#33
- That was my thinking	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 08:04 PM	#36
- Chirac tells Sharon he is not welcome in France: TV	maddezmom	Jul-19-04 01:45 PM	#18
- Chirac is right to tell Sharon to fuck off	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 01:55 PM	#22
- and Sharon is right to tell Chirac...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-19-04 07:28 PM	#32
- I dont think there is any safe comment for that one	Forkboy	Jul-19-04 08:05 PM	#37
- I disagree with Chirac most of the times because he's a conservative	Flagg	Jul-19-04 02:11 PM	#23
- Has the article been spiked?	Mary Pat	Jul-19-04 02:49 PM	#29
- Never mind.	Mary Pat	Jul-19-04 02:52 PM	#31
- another reason to like France	number6	Jul-19-04 07:57 PM	#35
- earth to francophiles...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-19-04 10:14 PM	#39
- so fucking what	Djinn	Jul-19-04 10:41 PM	#40
- your interpretation is obtuse...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-20-04 01:10 AM	#42
- what the fuck still holds	Djinn	Jul-20-04 01:18 AM	#43
- I think we have a trifecta here...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-20-04 10:06 AM	#45
- OOOHH "potty mouth"	Djinn	Jul-20-04 06:29 PM	#51
- I think I already know why it was posted	Forkboy	Jul-20-04 06:35 PM	#52
- that explains all of the "rampant anti-semetism"	newyorican	Jul-19-04 10:41 PM	#41
- earth to francophobes	Forkboy	Jul-20-04 02:48 PM	#46
- some French proverbs to suit the occasion...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-20-04 04:56 PM	#47
- I got some proverbs too	Forkboy	Jul-20-04 05:30 PM	#48
- that's good...	cantwealljustgetalong	Jul-20-04 05:54 PM	#49
- And yours were?	Forkboy	Jul-20-04 05:56 PM	#50