(WatchDogReport.org) – Former Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman has encouraged French Jews to leave France following the Left’s narrow defeat of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the country’s snap election. President Emmanuel Macron called the snap election in June after the Hard Right National Rally won 31.5% of the vote in the EU parliament elections. Le Pen’s party got more than double the support of Macron’s left-leaning party.
The parliamentary election results pose a challenge for Macron’s government, however, as no party achieved an overall majority. Leading up to the election, several panicked leftist candidates from Macron’s New Popular Front coalition dropped out of the race to avoid splitting the vote.
The results of the election have reportedly worried many French Jews concerned about their safety in the country. Lieberman stressed that there was “no time” when he pressed French Jews to flee to Israel. Lieberman, who leads the right-wing Yisrael Beytenu Party, blasted National Assembly member Jean-Luc Mélenchon, accusing the far-left politician of displaying “pure antisemitism” in his criticism of Israel.
In the early stages of the conflict, Macron was the subject of controversy when he stated that Israel did not need to “flatten” Gaza to fight Hamas. Israeli media accused the French president of implicitly supporting Hamas, who are recognized internationally as a terrorist group.
Macron repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the conflict in late 2023. Israel’s government, however, has reiterated its main goal in the conflict of destroying Hamas entirely. French-Jewish journalist Yohann Taieb slated Macron’s left-wing alliance in the election. He claimed that, by working with the radical left, the president had effectively endorsed a pro-Hamas party.
Similar issues arose in the United Kingdom’s general election in July; Labour MP Jess Phillips narrowly held onto her seat and was relentlessly harassed by pro-Palestine Muslim activists throughout her campaign and during the vote count. The new prime minister, Keir Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, has made clear his openly Zionist stance. Despite the Labour Party securing a landslide victory in the election, several of the party’s MPs lost their seats to independent pro-Palestinian candidates, highlighting the increasing division between a Zionist-led leftist party and a pro-Palestinian voter base.
French-Jewish leaders expressed deep concern over France’s election results and the degree of power and influence held by Mélenchon in France. Leading Rabbi Moshe Sebbag, of Synagogue de la Victoire, told Jews they had “no future” in the country.
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