This is a cross post by Mark Gardner from The CST Blog
Interviewed in Le Monde newspaper, Marine le Pen, leader of the French Front National, has stated that kippot (Jewish head coverings) should be abolished/eliminated/done away with in public. (The actual French word is supprime, various translations of which can be seen here.)
Her comments derive from her desire to ban Muslim veils in public. She stated:
It is obvious that if the veil is abolished, the kippah is abolished in public as well.
The ban would apply:
In stores, on public transport and on the streets.
In the French original:
[Question] Êtes-vous toujours pour l’interdiction du voile dans l’espace public? Dans la rue?
[Answer] Oui, les magasins, les transports, la rue…
[Question] La kippa par exemple…
[Answer] Il est évident que si l’on supprime le voile, on supprime la kippa dans l’espace public.
Marine le Pen is no fringe figure. She gained 17.9% of the vote in the 2012 French Presidential Election. Her party polled over six million votes.
Those who ask why Jews should not ally with European nationalist anti-Muslim parties: please take note of this and file it alongside the Dutch Freedom Party’s calls for a ban on shechita.
