France’s prime minister referred to a new ‘Night of Broken Glass’ across France as he announced that anti-Semitic acts were up by 69 per cent this year.
Edouard Philippe made the comments on the 80th anniversary of the November 1938 pogroms in Germany when Nazis attacked Jewish businesses and synagogues.
‘Every aggression perpetrated against one of our fellow citizens because he is Jewish sounds like a new breakage of glass,’ Mr Philippe said in a Facebook post.
While Mr Philippe did not point to particular acts of physical violence, he made it clear that online hate crimes and related offences went up significantly this year.
Referring specifically to Kristallnacht – the Night of Broken Glass – Mr Philippe said: ‘Why remember, in 2018, such a painful memory?
‘Because we are very far from having finished with anti-Semitism. While [anti-Semitism] has been declining for two years, the number of these acts has increased by more than 69% in the first nine months of 2018.’
Kristallnacht took place in November 1938 and involved the targeting of Jewish businesses, home and synagogues by Nazi paramilitaries and civilians.
It was the ‘Night of Broken Glass,’ as Jewish shop windows were smashed and synagogues were torched.
Mr Philippe said that in relation to anti-Semitism he would ‘let nothing pass’, and that new measures included a clampdown on cyber hate crime.
A modification of the law will strengthen the fight against online anti-Semitism, while a new Ministry of Education team will fight against Jewish hate in schools.
Source: Daily Mail
