France – home to the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Western Europe – continues to see protests and violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These reactions have been strongly expressed in the past three weeks in demonstrations that have drawn tens of thousands of French people to react. As Jean-David Levitte, Nicolas Sarkozy’s chief diplomatic adviser, said this week: “The emotions of the Middle East are in our streets.”
Twenty-two days of fighting in the Gaza Strip have also stirred up old tensions – and in some cases violence – between two communities whose members often share a similar culture, live in the same neighborhoods, and have both suffered from discrimination.
Even if the truce holds, some worry that the war may have done lasting damage to community relations. Jewish leaders warn of the dangers of a diffuse kind of anti-Semitism becoming entrenched in the Muslim community, while their Muslim counterparts accuse some in the Jewish community of fueling Islamophobia by deliberately talking up differences they say are political rather than religious.
M’hammed Henniche of the Union of Muslim Associations in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north of Paris, sees it differently: “Yes, there is anger. But it’s not against Jews, it’s against Israel,” Henniche said. “The problem is that as soon as you condemn Israel you are called anti-Semitic. For us this is not about religion, this is about politics.” But he also said that the interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Jews has suffered as a result of the Gaza conflict and in some cases been suspended outright: “Something is broken.”
Tunisian-born imam, Hassen Chalghoumi, 35, has found himself caught in the middle. He has received anonymous death threats on his cell phone, his house is under police watch and he is shadowed by a bodyguard. In 2006, the imam attended a ceremony commemorating the Holocaust at the Drancy deportation memorial, and called on Muslims to respect the memory of Jewish deportees. His home was vandalized. The cease-fire has lowered tensions, giving him some room to work, and Chalghoumi says his first job is renewing confidence within the Muslim community.
