Michael Ejercito
2017-02-05 01:29:20 UTC
The French Inquisition
France's New Dreyfus Trial, a Jihad against the Truth
by Yves Mamou
February 4, 2017 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9885/france-bensoussan-trial
"It is a shame to deny this taboo, namely that in the Arab families in
France, and everyone knows it but nobody wants to say it, anti-Semitism is
sucked with mother's milk." — George Bensoussan, historian of Moroccan
heritage, on trial for saying that.
"When parents shout at their children, when they want to reprimand them,
they call them Jews. Yes. All Arab families know this. It is monumental
hypocrisy not to see that this anti-Semitism begins as a domestic one. " —
Smaïn Laacher, French-Algerian professor of sociology.
This witch-hunt against Bensoussan is symptomatic of the state of free
speech today in France. Intellectual intimidation is the rule. Complaints
are filed against everyone not saying that Muslims are the main victim of
racism in France.
In December 2016, Pascal Bruckner, a writer and philosopher, was also
brought to court for saying: "We need to make the record of collaborators of
Charlie Hebdo's murderers." He named the people in France who had instilled
a climate of hatred against Charlie.
Muslims, especially young Muslims, as the new revolutionary labor class. It
did not matter that most of them were not working: they were "victims".
"Anti-racist vigilance became a gag rule... Anti-racist organizations are in
the denial of 'Muslim racism.'" — Alain Finkielkraut, philosopher and
academic.
An important red line in France has just been crossed. In true dhimmi
fashion, in a move reminiscent of both the Inquisition and the Dreyfus
Trial, all of France's so-called "anti-racist" organizations have joined a
jihad against free speech and against truth.
On January 25, 2017, France's "anti-racist" organizations -- all of them,
even the Jewish LICRA (International League against Racism and
anti-Semitism) -- joined the Islamist CCIF (Collective against Islamophobia)
in court against Georges Bensoussan, a highly regarded Jewish historian of
Moroccan extraction, and an expert on the history of Jews in Arab countries.
Georges Bensoussan, a highly regarded Jewish historian of Moroccan
extraction, and an expert on the history of Jews in Arab countries. (Image
source: Jusqu'au dernier video screenshot)
Not only did the Islamist CCIF and the Jewish LICRA unite against him, but
also the French Human Rights League, SOS Racism and MRAP (Movement against
Racism and for Friendship with People).
Bensoussan is being prosecuted for remarks he made during a "France Culture"
radio debate, about antisemitism among French Arabs:
"An Algerian sociologist, Smaïn Laacher, with great courage, just said in a
documentary aired on Channel 3: It is a shame to deny this taboo, namely
that in the Arab families in France, and everyone knows it but nobody wants
to say it, anti-Semitism is sucked with mother's milk."
The documentary that Bensoussan was referring to was called "Teachers in the
Lost Territories of the Republic," and was aired in October 2015, on Channel
3. In this documentary, Laacher, who is a French professor of Algerian
origin, said:
"Antisemitism is already awash in the domestic space... It... rolls almost
naturally off the tongue, awash in the language... It is an insult. When
parents shout at their children, when they want to reprimand them, they call
them Jews. Yes. All Arab families know this. It is monumental hypocrisy not
to see that this anti-Semitism begins as a domestic one."
No complaint was filed against Laacher. But as soon as Bensoussan, in the
heat of a radio debate, referred to Arab anti-Smitism as "sucked in with
mother's milk", CCIF, followed by all anti-racist associations, brought
Bensoussan to supposed justice. Their accusation was simple: "mother's milk"
is not a metaphor for cultural anti-Semitism transmitted through education,
but a genetic and "essentialist" accusation. It means: "all Arabs are
anti-Semitic" -- in other words, Bensoussan is a racist.
Professor Smaïn Laacher, of the University of Strasbourg, denied the quote
and told the website Mediapart. "I have never said nor written that kind of
ignominy". He filed a complaint against Bensoussan, but later withdrew it.
Judgment will be rendered March 7.
This witch-hunt against Bensoussan is symptomatic of the state of free
speech today in France. With the leading Islamist CCIF stalking
"Islamophobia", intellectual intimidation is the rule. Complaints are filed
against everyone not saying that Muslims are the main victim of racism in
France.
In December 2016, Pascal Bruckner, a writer and philosopher, was also
brought to court for saying in 2015, on Arte TV, "We need to make the record
of collaborators of Charlie Hebdo's murderers". He named people in France
who had instilled a climate of hatred against Charlie: the entertainer Guy
Bedos, the rap singer Nekfeu, anti-racist organizations like The
Indivisibles, or the journalist Rokhaya Diallo and the supremacist movement
for "people of color" known as Les Indigènes de la République ("The
Indigenous of the Republic").
It was not the first time that Islamists filed complaints against people
they dislike. Charlie Hebdo was twice brought to court by Islamist
organizations. Twice, the accusations of Charlie's Islamist accusers were
dismissed.
But with the Bensoussan trial, we are entering in a new era. The most
venerable, the most authentic anti-racist organizations -- some of them are
older than a century -- are, shamefully, lining up with Islamist
organizations.
This tipping point was initiated in the 1980s by with SOS Racism. This
organization, founded to organize young Muslims and help them to assimilate
into French society rapidly, became a political movement, manipulated by the
Socialist Party. SOS Racism and its slogan, "Don't hurt my buddy", rapidly
became a new direction to the working class. With the working class
attracted by the far-right party Front National, the Socialist party needed
a new "clientele". They chose Muslims, especially young Muslims, as the new
revolutionary labor class. It did not matter that most of them were
unemployed: they were "victims".
Thirty years later, it is easy for Islamist organizations to take the reins
of this ideology of victimization, and to transform "anti-racism" into a
fight against "Islamophobia".
In 2016, at a symposium in Paris dedicated to "False Friends and Useful
Idiots of Secularism", Alain Jakubowicz, president of the Jewish anti-racist
group LICRA, described the anti-racist field war:
"Today, CCIF (Collective against Islamophobia) is the leading anti-racist
organization. This is terrifying. Today, CCIF and Indigenous of the Republic
are the leading fighters against racism... not against anti-Semitism,
because they do not care. This is not the question for them. And they are
very clever to recruit "useful idiots" like rap singers. And Muslim youths,
who have good reason to protest being those "left behind" in French society,
see their idols promoting CCIF and its accusations of "state racism". In
2016, how is it possible to talk about a racism practiced by the state in
the French Republic ? This is unbelievable!"
In 2017, what is unbelievable is to see the same Alain Jakubowicz and the
Jewish LICRA sitting side by side in court with CCIF to file a complaint
against a prominent historian who simply speaks what he sees about the
cultural transmission of anti-Semitism within the French Arab and French
Muslim community.
Richard Abitbol, president of the Confederation of French Jews and Friends
of Israel, accused Jakubowicz and LICRA of obeying the "necessity for them
to find a Jewish scapegoat to build a virginity in order to comply with
those who fight Islamophobia".
To evaluate the treason of this Jewish anti-racist movement colluding with
its worst enemy, it is important to remember that LICRA has been created to
defend Samuel Schwartzbard. In 1920, in Paris, Schwartzbard had killed Simon
Petlioura, a Cossack leader responsible for killing thousands of Jews in
Ukraine. Schwartzbard was acquitted. LICRA militants were also famous in the
1930s for their street-fights against far-right anti-Semitic "Camelots du
roi".
But the LICRA disarray can be generalized to all the "anti-racist"
movements. SOS Racism -- which in 2008 supported the firing of a veiled
Muslim employee by her employer -- is today a follower of CCIF.
The venerable French League of the Human Rights (LDH), in 2006, had two
prominent members -- Antoine Spire and Cedric Porin -- resign from the CCIF
and publish an op-ed in Le Monde accusing the CCIF "of responding to the
racism experienced by young people of immigrant background by showing
complacency towards the Islamist organizations that claim to represent
them".
When the French philosopher Robert Redeker received death threats from
Islamist terrorists because he criticized Islam, the LDH stated that it did
not share the "noxious ideas" of Mr Redeker, but conceded that, "whatever
one thinks of the writings of Mr Redeker, there is no reason for him to
undergo such treatment".
Regarding the MRAP (Movement against Racism and for Friendship with People),
it is enough to say that its leader, Mouloud Aounit , publicly joins Tariq
Ramadan of the Muslim Brotherhood to fight "Islamophobia".
In September 2009, Sihem Habchi, president of the feminist association Ni
Putes, Ni Soumises (Neither Whores nor Doormats), wrote in France Soir:
"When I see MRAP, LDH, and Ligue de l'Enseignement accept female genital
mutilation as a cultural practice, I realize that these people are not ready
to help me to be free".
In court, in defense of Bensoussan, Alain Finkielkraut, philosopher and
academic, explained to the judge:
"A rogue anti-racism makes you to criminalize a concern instead of fighting
the cause of this concern. If the court obeys to this injunction, it will be
a moral and an intellectual catastrophe".
Finkielkraut should have added: a political and civilizational catastrophe.
Later, at the radio Finkielkraut added: "Anti-racist vigilance became a gag
rule.... For a long time, racism in France had only a white face and his
victims were Arabs, Blacks and Romas". In other words, it is forbidden today
in France to say that anti-Semitism comes essentially from the (not all, but
a big part of) Muslim population. "Anti-racist organizations are in denial
of 'Muslim racism'. And LICRA today is joining the denial of an anti-racist
party". Finkielkraut, a senior member of LICRA, sent his resignation to the
organization's board.
Yves Mamou is a journalist and author based in France. He worked for two
decades for the daily, Le Monde, before his retirement.
Follow Yves Mamou on Facebook
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
France's New Dreyfus Trial, a Jihad against the Truth
by Yves Mamou
February 4, 2017 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9885/france-bensoussan-trial
"It is a shame to deny this taboo, namely that in the Arab families in
France, and everyone knows it but nobody wants to say it, anti-Semitism is
sucked with mother's milk." — George Bensoussan, historian of Moroccan
heritage, on trial for saying that.
"When parents shout at their children, when they want to reprimand them,
they call them Jews. Yes. All Arab families know this. It is monumental
hypocrisy not to see that this anti-Semitism begins as a domestic one. " —
Smaïn Laacher, French-Algerian professor of sociology.
This witch-hunt against Bensoussan is symptomatic of the state of free
speech today in France. Intellectual intimidation is the rule. Complaints
are filed against everyone not saying that Muslims are the main victim of
racism in France.
In December 2016, Pascal Bruckner, a writer and philosopher, was also
brought to court for saying: "We need to make the record of collaborators of
Charlie Hebdo's murderers." He named the people in France who had instilled
a climate of hatred against Charlie.
Muslims, especially young Muslims, as the new revolutionary labor class. It
did not matter that most of them were not working: they were "victims".
"Anti-racist vigilance became a gag rule... Anti-racist organizations are in
the denial of 'Muslim racism.'" — Alain Finkielkraut, philosopher and
academic.
An important red line in France has just been crossed. In true dhimmi
fashion, in a move reminiscent of both the Inquisition and the Dreyfus
Trial, all of France's so-called "anti-racist" organizations have joined a
jihad against free speech and against truth.
On January 25, 2017, France's "anti-racist" organizations -- all of them,
even the Jewish LICRA (International League against Racism and
anti-Semitism) -- joined the Islamist CCIF (Collective against Islamophobia)
in court against Georges Bensoussan, a highly regarded Jewish historian of
Moroccan extraction, and an expert on the history of Jews in Arab countries.
Georges Bensoussan, a highly regarded Jewish historian of Moroccan
extraction, and an expert on the history of Jews in Arab countries. (Image
source: Jusqu'au dernier video screenshot)
Not only did the Islamist CCIF and the Jewish LICRA unite against him, but
also the French Human Rights League, SOS Racism and MRAP (Movement against
Racism and for Friendship with People).
Bensoussan is being prosecuted for remarks he made during a "France Culture"
radio debate, about antisemitism among French Arabs:
"An Algerian sociologist, Smaïn Laacher, with great courage, just said in a
documentary aired on Channel 3: It is a shame to deny this taboo, namely
that in the Arab families in France, and everyone knows it but nobody wants
to say it, anti-Semitism is sucked with mother's milk."
The documentary that Bensoussan was referring to was called "Teachers in the
Lost Territories of the Republic," and was aired in October 2015, on Channel
3. In this documentary, Laacher, who is a French professor of Algerian
origin, said:
"Antisemitism is already awash in the domestic space... It... rolls almost
naturally off the tongue, awash in the language... It is an insult. When
parents shout at their children, when they want to reprimand them, they call
them Jews. Yes. All Arab families know this. It is monumental hypocrisy not
to see that this anti-Semitism begins as a domestic one."
No complaint was filed against Laacher. But as soon as Bensoussan, in the
heat of a radio debate, referred to Arab anti-Smitism as "sucked in with
mother's milk", CCIF, followed by all anti-racist associations, brought
Bensoussan to supposed justice. Their accusation was simple: "mother's milk"
is not a metaphor for cultural anti-Semitism transmitted through education,
but a genetic and "essentialist" accusation. It means: "all Arabs are
anti-Semitic" -- in other words, Bensoussan is a racist.
Professor Smaïn Laacher, of the University of Strasbourg, denied the quote
and told the website Mediapart. "I have never said nor written that kind of
ignominy". He filed a complaint against Bensoussan, but later withdrew it.
Judgment will be rendered March 7.
This witch-hunt against Bensoussan is symptomatic of the state of free
speech today in France. With the leading Islamist CCIF stalking
"Islamophobia", intellectual intimidation is the rule. Complaints are filed
against everyone not saying that Muslims are the main victim of racism in
France.
In December 2016, Pascal Bruckner, a writer and philosopher, was also
brought to court for saying in 2015, on Arte TV, "We need to make the record
of collaborators of Charlie Hebdo's murderers". He named people in France
who had instilled a climate of hatred against Charlie: the entertainer Guy
Bedos, the rap singer Nekfeu, anti-racist organizations like The
Indivisibles, or the journalist Rokhaya Diallo and the supremacist movement
for "people of color" known as Les Indigènes de la République ("The
Indigenous of the Republic").
It was not the first time that Islamists filed complaints against people
they dislike. Charlie Hebdo was twice brought to court by Islamist
organizations. Twice, the accusations of Charlie's Islamist accusers were
dismissed.
But with the Bensoussan trial, we are entering in a new era. The most
venerable, the most authentic anti-racist organizations -- some of them are
older than a century -- are, shamefully, lining up with Islamist
organizations.
This tipping point was initiated in the 1980s by with SOS Racism. This
organization, founded to organize young Muslims and help them to assimilate
into French society rapidly, became a political movement, manipulated by the
Socialist Party. SOS Racism and its slogan, "Don't hurt my buddy", rapidly
became a new direction to the working class. With the working class
attracted by the far-right party Front National, the Socialist party needed
a new "clientele". They chose Muslims, especially young Muslims, as the new
revolutionary labor class. It did not matter that most of them were
unemployed: they were "victims".
Thirty years later, it is easy for Islamist organizations to take the reins
of this ideology of victimization, and to transform "anti-racism" into a
fight against "Islamophobia".
In 2016, at a symposium in Paris dedicated to "False Friends and Useful
Idiots of Secularism", Alain Jakubowicz, president of the Jewish anti-racist
group LICRA, described the anti-racist field war:
"Today, CCIF (Collective against Islamophobia) is the leading anti-racist
organization. This is terrifying. Today, CCIF and Indigenous of the Republic
are the leading fighters against racism... not against anti-Semitism,
because they do not care. This is not the question for them. And they are
very clever to recruit "useful idiots" like rap singers. And Muslim youths,
who have good reason to protest being those "left behind" in French society,
see their idols promoting CCIF and its accusations of "state racism". In
2016, how is it possible to talk about a racism practiced by the state in
the French Republic ? This is unbelievable!"
In 2017, what is unbelievable is to see the same Alain Jakubowicz and the
Jewish LICRA sitting side by side in court with CCIF to file a complaint
against a prominent historian who simply speaks what he sees about the
cultural transmission of anti-Semitism within the French Arab and French
Muslim community.
Richard Abitbol, president of the Confederation of French Jews and Friends
of Israel, accused Jakubowicz and LICRA of obeying the "necessity for them
to find a Jewish scapegoat to build a virginity in order to comply with
those who fight Islamophobia".
To evaluate the treason of this Jewish anti-racist movement colluding with
its worst enemy, it is important to remember that LICRA has been created to
defend Samuel Schwartzbard. In 1920, in Paris, Schwartzbard had killed Simon
Petlioura, a Cossack leader responsible for killing thousands of Jews in
Ukraine. Schwartzbard was acquitted. LICRA militants were also famous in the
1930s for their street-fights against far-right anti-Semitic "Camelots du
roi".
But the LICRA disarray can be generalized to all the "anti-racist"
movements. SOS Racism -- which in 2008 supported the firing of a veiled
Muslim employee by her employer -- is today a follower of CCIF.
The venerable French League of the Human Rights (LDH), in 2006, had two
prominent members -- Antoine Spire and Cedric Porin -- resign from the CCIF
and publish an op-ed in Le Monde accusing the CCIF "of responding to the
racism experienced by young people of immigrant background by showing
complacency towards the Islamist organizations that claim to represent
them".
When the French philosopher Robert Redeker received death threats from
Islamist terrorists because he criticized Islam, the LDH stated that it did
not share the "noxious ideas" of Mr Redeker, but conceded that, "whatever
one thinks of the writings of Mr Redeker, there is no reason for him to
undergo such treatment".
Regarding the MRAP (Movement against Racism and for Friendship with People),
it is enough to say that its leader, Mouloud Aounit , publicly joins Tariq
Ramadan of the Muslim Brotherhood to fight "Islamophobia".
In September 2009, Sihem Habchi, president of the feminist association Ni
Putes, Ni Soumises (Neither Whores nor Doormats), wrote in France Soir:
"When I see MRAP, LDH, and Ligue de l'Enseignement accept female genital
mutilation as a cultural practice, I realize that these people are not ready
to help me to be free".
In court, in defense of Bensoussan, Alain Finkielkraut, philosopher and
academic, explained to the judge:
"A rogue anti-racism makes you to criminalize a concern instead of fighting
the cause of this concern. If the court obeys to this injunction, it will be
a moral and an intellectual catastrophe".
Finkielkraut should have added: a political and civilizational catastrophe.
Later, at the radio Finkielkraut added: "Anti-racist vigilance became a gag
rule.... For a long time, racism in France had only a white face and his
victims were Arabs, Blacks and Romas". In other words, it is forbidden today
in France to say that anti-Semitism comes essentially from the (not all, but
a big part of) Muslim population. "Anti-racist organizations are in denial
of 'Muslim racism'. And LICRA today is joining the denial of an anti-racist
party". Finkielkraut, a senior member of LICRA, sent his resignation to the
organization's board.
Yves Mamou is a journalist and author based in France. He worked for two
decades for the daily, Le Monde, before his retirement.
Follow Yves Mamou on Facebook
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.