“International solidarity in the fight against barbarism, against the monstrosity of terrorism and radical Islamism must be fundamental,” insists Joël Mergui.
“We have not seen massive calls from Muslim authorities to come and demonstrate” regretted Monday, November 13 on franceinfo Joël Mergui, president of the Jewish consistory of Paris the day after the march against anti-Semitism which brought together more than 180,000 people in France. He greeted a “republican surge”. A few imans were present, but the Muslim community did not come in large numbers. “Muslims must not be afraid to express themselves” he explained. According to him, “society must fully express itself to support the fight against anti-Semitism, against terrorism and for the release of hostages.”
Emmanuel Macron receives representatives of religions this Monday morning. A national tribute will be paid for the 40 French people killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack in Israel.
Franceinfo: What is your reaction the day after the march against anti-Semitism?
Joel Mergui: There is a Republican upsurge. There is an appeal that was launched not by the Jewish community, but by the President of the Senate and the President of the National Assembly. Of course, we would have liked to be 500,000 or a million like afterwards Charlie Hebdo. It was a very beautiful event which was held with great dignity, with and with the Marseillaise which was sung a significant number of times with French flags throughout the event. Indeed, there was also the question of terrorism in Israel, the question of hostages. But what predominated was the call against anti-Semitism which was respected by all the demonstrators.
Some regretted the weak presence of the Muslim community. Do you agree?
It’s true. I have repeatedly appealed to the Muslim community to be more present. We have not seen massive calls from Muslim authorities to come and demonstrate. We saw a few imams who were there, there were a few calls. I thank the Muslims who were present and the Muslims who expressed themselves throughout this period. Jews have never conflated terrorism, Islamism and Islam. In France, we have harmony with our Muslim friends. It was not the mosques that were protected, it was the synagogues. After the massacre of October 7, we did not see total empathy, on the contrary we saw a rise in anti-Semitism. It was the Jews who were protected, it was the Jews who were the targets. And so that this conflation is not made, it is important that more Muslims express themselves. There are some who have the courage to speak out. We can no longer say, we are afraid. It is not possible that the Jews continue to say we are afraid. But Muslims should not be afraid to express themselves, nor should high-level artists be afraid to express themselves. Society must fully express itself to support the fight against anti-Semitism, against terrorism and for the release of hostages.
A national tribute will be paid for the French people who died in the attacks of October 7. Do you have information on the terms and date?
I don’t have any information on the date yet. It seems fundamental to me that France pays homage to the French who were assassinated in the conditions we know. Women were disembowelled, babies decapitated. We must remember all this, especially today when we commemorate eight years after the Bataclan massacre. I think that our countries are united, that is to say that our country, France, is united with Israel. International solidarity in the fight against barbarism, against the monstrosity of terrorism and radical Islamism must be fundamental.