France: new law against antisemitism?
The Gaza war has triggered a wave of antisemitism across Europe. French MP Caroline Yadan has introduced a bill aimed at countering this trend, which is due to be debated in the French National Assembly today. Critics warn that the new legislation could restrict freedom of expression and criminalise criticism of Israel's policies.
Yadan bill would de-escalate debate
Myriam Ackermann-Sommer, a rabbi and essayist, argues in Le Figaro that the law is absolutely crucial:
“Supporting the Yadan bill means acknowledging that there is a particular urgency today: the fight against a new form of antisemitism that deliberately uses a new language to mask old hostilities. ... The Yadan bill could help to tone down the extreme brutality that seems to characterize public debate today. Furthermore, the law makes it a criminal offence to question the State of Israel's right to exist, and thus safeguards the principle of the recognition of peoples and their right to exist. ... This means that it could also silence the denial of the Palestinian people's existence.”
Dangerous, ineffective and counterproductive
Lawyers Cécile Ostier and Cédric Uzan-Sarano raise three main points of criticism in Libération:
“We consider the bill to be dangerous, ineffective and counterproductive. ... Extending criminal charges to cover certain forms of speech, however inflammatory, is a dangerous precedent for the rule of law... The bill is vague and carries the risk of being arbitrary. … And of being ineffective. … Those who use antisemitic 'double-speak' under the guise of criticising Israel know how to work with insinuations that are difficult to link to a specific criminal offence. … The bill is also counterproductive. Shifting the debate to the legal arena offers propagandists a double advantage: they can cast themselves as victims of a 'system' and cite the absence of a conviction as confirmation of their arguments.”