A Tangled Web

FRENCH EVASIONS.



Disaffected youth and marginalized individuals are more likely to perpetrate anti-Semitic attacks than those with ties to the Palestinian cause or neo-Nazi groups, as Jewish groups have charged, according to an anti-Semitism report France released Tuesday.



Rubbish say Jewish leaders, although they welcomed the report as an indication of French resolve – often criticized as lacking – in fighting the resurgence of anti-Semitism. But they took issue with the report's finding that "only a small proportion of [perpetrators] are North African [or] originate from a country that has links with the Arab-Israeli conflict."



"It's a fact" that many of those who have been prosecuted for attacks on French Jews have Arab or Muslim backgrounds, according to European Jewish Congress secretary-general Serge Cwajgenbaum, who attributed the downplaying partly to politics.



"For many reasons one doesn't want to antagonize some communities," he said.



He might have added especially when they will make up 20% of the electorate, eh Jacques?