The green city hall of Strasbourg adopted on the night of Monday 3 to Tuesday 4 May a motion on anti-Semitism, much criticized by the opposition which accuses it of not adopting in its entirety the definition of the International Alliance for Remembrance of the Holocaust (IHRA).
The motion, which reaffirms that Strasbourg is
"fully committed against anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination"
, was adopted about two months after the refusal on March 22 by the majority of EELV mayor Jeanne Barseghian to adopt this definition of l 'IHRA.
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This decision, which had aroused anger and incomprehension within the Jewish community, had taken place during the same municipal council during which the principle of a subsidy of 2.5 million euros for the construction of a mosque carried by an association of Turkish origin, Millî Görüs, had been voted. The telescoping of the two subjects had plunged the ecological town hall into a national crisis.
Adopted by 46 votes (out of 65 seats) at the end of very tense exchanges, the motion on anti-Semitism was presented by the majority of Jeanne Barseghian who said
"deeply"
regret
"the emotion"
caused by the controversy.
"We reject and fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms"
, proclaims in particular the text which proposes eleven concrete actions to fight against anti-Semitism (support for memorial actions, promotion of Jewish heritage ...)
But to the chagrin of the opposition, which voted against, it does not take the IHRA's definition in its entirety, retaining only
"the following terms: anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews which can be manifest by hatred towards them.
The rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism target Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and / or their property, community institutions and places of worship ”
.
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The text of the ecologist town hall excludes in particular the passage indicating that
"the refusal of the right to self-determination of the Jews, by asserting for example that the existence of the State of Israel is the fruit of a racist enterprise"
, is a form of anti-Semitism.
The motion insists that
“freedom of speech and criticism of the policies of any government”
, including Israel, are
“inalienable rights”
.
However, it
“strongly
condemns
all prejudice, discrimination and anti-Semitic violence based on a real or supposed link with Israel, including those which have taken the form of a new expression by the denial of the very existence of the State of Israel. 'Israel'
.
