'Anti-Zionism is fuel for antisemitism' - French Minister Bergé visits Israel to unveil new law against antisemitism

Aurore Bergé, France’s minister for gender equality and the fight against discrimination, arrived in Israel to unveil an upcoming French law targeting antisemitism, including hatred of the Jewish state. Her visit comes amid rising antisemitism in France and strained diplomatic ties between Paris and Jerusalem over disagreements on Middle East policy.

“In the coming weeks we will pass a new law against antisemitism,” Bergé said in an exclusive interview with Israeli news outlet Ynet News. The new proposed French legislation calls for a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine amounting to 75,000 euros.

Bergé who previously chaired the France-Israel Friendship Group in the National Assembly, warned “the gravest danger in antisemitism is indifference to evil and its normalization – that it becomes routine, that we think it is inevitable and that nothing can be done.”

French lawmaker Caroline Yadan introduced a new bill against antisemitism that addresses the deliberate confusion between the terms anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

“Anti-Zionists who call for the destruction of Israel and deny its right to exist in security try to claim this is merely a ban on criticizing Israel. Anti-Zionism is fuel for antisemitism and I will not allow it to ignite in France,” Yadan said.

France recently called on the United Nations to remove official Francesca Albanese, who previously described Israel as an ‘enemy of humanity’ during an Al Jazeera forum.

“By recently describing Israel as an ‘enemy of humanity,’ she [Albanese] has crossed an additional threshold, fitting into rhetoric that constitutes contemporary forms of antisemitism,” Yadan stated.

While recognizing the challenges, Bergé welcomed the new proposed legislation against Jew-hatred in France. 

“France is honored to become one of the only countries in the world with such a clear law on this issue. We hope other countries will follow our example,” she said.

“Already on October 8, instructions were issued to protect French Jews," Bergé added. "We ordered that all complaints related to antisemitism be expedited so that justice would be delivered swiftly. In 2024 I convened all the organizations dealing with the issue, including those representing all religions, because I believed it was essential to present a united front in the fight against antisemitism."

"We focused particularly on young people, because both the victims and the perpetrators are increasingly young. We are incorporating the IHRA definition of antisemitism into teacher training so they can explain what antisemitism is in its new forms," she explained.

Around half a million Jews and seven million Muslims reside in France, constituting the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Western Europe and in the European Union. Radicalized Muslims and far-left activists have played a central role in the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in France since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack. 

In 2024, the French Jewish protection service warned that Jew-hatred had become a “new routine” in France. 

Bergé hopes to restart the Israeli French dialogue amid diplomatic tensions due to France’s unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state in 2025, which Israel views as a betrayal and reward for Hamas terrorism and the Oct. 7 atrocities. She is expected to pay respects to the victims of the Hamas-led massacre and visit the devastated Israeli border community of Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Bergé is also scheduled to meet with French citizens living in Israel and visit Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem.

She also commented on the increasing number of French Jews relocating to Israel due to antisemitism in France:

“Immigration must remain a matter of free choice and not something imposed out of fear or a sense of inevitability. I refuse to accept a reality in which French Jews feel they must leave their country, our country. No one should have to give up life in their homeland. France must guarantee that for all its citizens, including French Jews."

"As President Macron said on Friday: France without Jews is not the same country, and that is not the country we wish to live in,” Bergé said, adding that France intends to boost security around Jewish institutions. 

French Jewish leader Robert Ejnes warned last August that more French Jews would consider emigrating to Israel and other countries if France failed to address the rising levels of antisemitism.

Despite serious challenges, Bergé articulated cautious optimism about the future. 

“If I were pessimistic I would not be involved in politics,” she explained. “It may be a quarter to midnight, but it is not yet midnight. It is never too late. It is very important for me to convey, through my visit, a message of hope and friendship."