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France Tag

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 22, 2015 19 Comments
A member of the Air Force, a national guardsman and a college student, (all Americans) stopped a terror attack on a French train Friday night. This report from France 24 has the basic timeline of the incident:
Holidaying US servicemen foil French train attack Anthony Sadler, a student studying physical therapy at Sacramento State University, was travelling on a French train with two childhood friends ̶ Air Force serviceman Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman ̶ when the three heard a gunshot and breaking glass. "We heard a gunshot and we heard glass breaking behind us, and saw a train employee sprint past us down the aisle," Sadler said from France, describing the incident. They then saw the gunman entering their train car. "I didn't realise what was happening until I saw a guard run past. I looked back and saw a guy enter with a Kalashnikov. My friends and I got down and then I said, 'Let's get him'," said Skarlatos, 22, who returned from service in Afghanistan in July.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 01, 2015 8 Comments
While American activists languished in the debris of their Cecil the Lion meltdown/manhunt, people in Calais have been dealing with a perfect storm of union strikes, stampeding migrants, and a resulting travel standstill. Much has been made of the inconvenience to Brits attempting to cross the English Channel for a summer holiday, but the French city of Calais is truly in a crisis. Over the past week, thousands of migrants have flooded secure areas surrounding the Eurotunnel terminal in an attempt to enter the United Kingdom. At least 9 people have died during the attempt since June, and the very crush of those attempting to get close to access points has caused a dangerous and volatile situation in the city. The migrants, coming mostly from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan, are fighting to get across the channel and into the UK for a variety of reasons---many are seeking jobs, or asylum---but all who come do so because it is statistically easier to remain legally in the UK than it is in France. The BBC created a video explaining things in more detail. Watch:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 11, 2015 19 Comments
Marie Brenner, writing in Vanity Fair, explores whether Jews should leave France. The French language version of the article is titled Paris En Flammes. With my distant recollection of high school french, that translates as Paris in Flames. But the English language version has a more descriptive title, The Troubling Question in the French Jewish Community: Is It Time to Leave?:
How can anyone be allowed to paint a swastika on the statue of Marianne, the goddess of French liberty, in the very center of the Place de la République?” That was what the chairman of one of France’s most celebrated luxury brands was thinking last July, when a tall man in a black shirt and a kaffiyeh leapt to the ledge of Marianne’s pedestal and scrawled a black swastika. All around him, thousands of angry demonstrators were swarming the square with fake rockets, Palestinian and Hamas flags, even the black-and-white banners of ISIS. Here, barely a mile and a half from the Galeries Lafayette, the heart of bourgeois Paris, the chants: “MORT AUX JUIFS! MORT AUX JUIFS!” Death to the Jews. It was Saturday, July 26, 2014, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration turned into a day of terror in one of the most fashionable neighborhoods of the city.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e7b_1420820113 We covered those riots last summer (some of the videos in the posts have gone bad):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 26, 2015 16 Comments
The details are just coming in, but there has been a terror attack at a gas factory near Lyon, France. At least one, possibly two, attackers beheaded a man and posted his head on a fence, and tried (unsuccessfully) to blow up the factory. We will update as more details are confirmed. CBS News reports:
One person was found decapitated and two others injured Friday after an assailant -- with a possible accomplice -- drove a vehicle onto an industrial complex near the eastern city of Lyon and tried to blow up a gas factory. "The intent was without doubt to cause an explosion. It was a terrorist attack," President Francois Hollande said at a news conference in Belgium. The attack targeted a chemical factory in the town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, about 20 miles southeast of Lyon. The plant is owned by the U.S. firm Air Products. The slain victim's head was found yards away from the body, stuck on a permiter fence, with Arabic writing on or near it. There were also flags or banners bearing Arabic writing found at the scene.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 03, 2015 2 Comments
We have documented many times the role in the spread of anti-Semitic violence in Europe played by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The gross demonization and dehumanization of Israeli Jews by BDS contributes both directly and indirectly to acts of anti-Semitism. We have seen it on the streets of Copenhagen, Malmo, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, The Hague, London and elsewhere. It's why Walking While Jewish is dangerous in many cities in Europe.  In Paris, Reporting While Jewish is risky as well. While in theory anti-Zionism can be distinct from anti-Semitism, in reality on the streets of Europe they have merged. Now there is yet another example, via Algemeiner, 40 Person Mob Assaults 2 Jews on Paris’ Boulevard Voltaire:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 18, 2015 8 Comments
We have run several posts about Walking While Jewish in European cities, and the resulting street harassment. Here is another example. Call it "Reporting While Jewish" in Paris. Miri Michaeli Schwartz is a reporter for Israel Channel 10 News. She was doing a report on the streets of Paris regarding the search for the downed Green Wings flight a number of weeks ago, when some Arab men noticed the Hebrew lettering on her microphone. They surrounded her and began to harass her. She just recently posted the short video, which only show a small part of the incident, on her facebook page (if the Facebook video does not load in your browser, try this YouTube link):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2015 46 Comments
I have fallen into the trap almost everyone has, in referring to an Iran "nuke deal" and "Framework deal." Based on what the White House has revealed, the "deal" is a very bad deal, as we have explored here repeatedly: It purports to give Iran its dual goals of maintaining and improving its nuclear infrastructure while removing sanctions and ensuring the economic viability of the oppressive Mullah regime. But it's even worse. Based upon statements made after the initial announcements, it's clear that there is no deal, just enough vague verbiage to allow each side to portray the "deal" however it wants. There is no meeting of minds, not binding contract, nothing. This was revealed initially in tweets by the Iranian Foreign Minister disputed White House "spin" on the "deal," insisting that sanctions would be lifted immediately, and crowing that Iran's enrichment would continue. https://twitter.com/HassanRouhani/status/583994063512276992 https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/583723860522115072 Since then, the divergence has grown, The Times of Israel reports:

Posted by Amy Miller on March 23, 2015 6 Comments
The controversial National Front party lost ground to former president Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right UMP party and their allies in the first round of the French elections on Sunday. UMP took 32% of the vote, with Marine Le Pen's National Front (FN) trailing at 26%. Current president Francis Hollande's Socialists came in third with 21% of the vote. All is not said and done for the resurgent Sarkozy, who still has to face a second round of elections on March 29, but it does signal to Hollande's majority that the French people could be ready for change. Don't look for a winning alliance between UMP and the FN, though. From Reuters:
Sarkozy immediately ruled out any alliances between his party and FN candidates in next Sunday's second round, which will decide who controls France's "departements", one level in France's complex multi-layered system of local government. "To those who voted National Front, we understand your frustrations," UMP chairman Sarkozy told supporters at party headquarters. "But this party will not solve France's problems - it will only make them worse," added the ex-president, who came out of retirement last year and hopes to secure the 2017 presidential ticket for his bitterly divided party in primaries next year.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 16, 2015 11 Comments
"Walking while Jewish" is a phrase I have been using quite a bit lately, when it comes to the rise of anti-Semitic street harassment and violence in Europe, often masquerading as anti-Zionism and frequently by Muslim young men. A Swedish reporter made a film recently of how he was harassed in Malmö, Sweden, while walking with a Kippa (Yarmoulke), and we have discussed Kippah Walks to protest street harassment in Copenhagen. An Israeli film crew from NRG news produced a video 10 Hours of Walking in Paris as a Jew (embedded below). The NRG website explains many of the comments, some of which are on the video, some of which are not:
"Go f*** from the front and the back," "Viva Palestine," "Hey you, with the kippa, what are you doing here?" these were only a few of the remarks sent my way as I was walking through the streets of Paris wearing a tzitzit and a kippa. Welcome to Paris 2015, where soldiers are walking every street that houses a Jewish institution, and where keffiyeh-wearing men and veiled women speak Arabic on every street corner. Walking down one Parisian suburb, I was asked what I doing there. In modern-day Paris, you see, Jews are barred from entering certain areas.

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 17, 2015 5 Comments
We recently covered the No-Go Zones of Europe. In the newest edition of Afterburner, Bill Whittle takes a close look at France and the events that led to the attack on Charlie Hebdo, particularly European multiculturalism which is anti-assimilationist. Whittle also makes an excellent analogy to American Politics, citing the identity groups that sprang up around Obama in the 2008 election. Watch it below: Speaking of Europe and multiculturalism, Sweden is at a crossroads. Although usually hailed by progressives as a standard for society, the political system in Sweden is breaking down.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 17, 2015 24 Comments
The U.S. failed to send any senior official to the Paris Solidarity Rally. Eric Holder even was in Paris at the time, but did Sunday morning talk shows. Instead, yesterday John Kerry brought James Taylor to France to play "You've Got A Friend" to smooth things over. http://on.aol.com/video/james-taylor-sings--youve-got-a-friend--during-kerry-visit-to-paris-town-hall-518604326?socialmd=0%7C577%7C63%7C2 We suggested that Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction was a better choice. Using James Taylor as foreign policy political cover was embarrassing for our country. But Kerry seemed oblivious to the imagery, as he went into a dreamy trance as Taylor sang. (See Featured Image) Here are five songs the French could have, and maybe should have, played back at Kerry.

1. Bobby Vee - Go Away Little Girl

John Kerry had a near lip lock with French President Hollande (via Instapundit). http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/201070/ Which makes Bobby Vee - Go Away Little Girl (1962) my number one pick:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 12, 2015 22 Comments
It was bad enough that none of President Obama, Vice President Biden or Secretary of State Kerry attended Sunday's Solidarity March in Paris, attended by dozens of world leaders. It would have been the right thing for Obama to attend. There was enough security to protect obvious targets like the French President, the German Chancellor and the Israeli Prime Minister. There is no indication that security kept Obama away. But what about Biden, Kerry, or some other very senior official? France is a key U.S. ally. The attacks in Paris were carried out by followers of groups that also kill Americans. Having at least one senior official, even if not the President, in attendance would have been a no-brainer. But not with this President. The attacks in Paris did not fit a narrative the administration wants to address. The problem was not security, but that the Solidarity March was against not just terrorism, but radical Islam and its suppression of free speech and the press through ideological and physical intimidation. That apparently was too much for a President who considers that we are the source of the problem through past behavior. Eric Holder was in Paris for a security conference. There were rumors that he would represent the U.S. at the march. Surely that would have been an easy, though imperfect, solution. I watched the march online via live video stream while covering it for Legal Insurrection. I took numerous screen shots of the leaders lined up. I didn't see Holder anywhere. Paris National Unity Rally Netanyahu others News reports confirm Holder did not attend. Then I flipped channels on the TV to see who was covering the march, and found Holder being interviewed by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 11, 2015 32 Comments
Almost since the beginning of this website in the fall of 2008 I have been sounding the alarm about, and documenting, the rise of anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism in Europe. It's been a toxic marriage of anti-Jewish Islamists and anti-Israeli leftists, resulting not just in fatalities, but in the inability to be publicly Jewish.  Walking while Jewish is not possible in most of Europe. It's worst where the marriage of Islamism and Leftism is most complete, in cities like Malmö, Sweden, but the Malmö Syndrome has spread almost everywhere in Europe. It's what allows a BBC anchor today to berate a French woman complaining about threats to Jews in France after the murders at the kosher supermarket, with a harangue about Israel. Remember the riots in Paris and elsewhere in Europe last summer in which gross anti-Semitism was on full display under the guise of anti-Zionism. Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic has a fascinating interview with French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls. When you read it, keep in mind that it too place before the recent killing at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermaket, French Prime Minister: If Jews Flee, the Republic Will Be a Failure:

Posted by Mike LaChance on January 10, 2015 16 Comments
As the world mourns the victims of the Paris attack, we should also recognize two acts of bravery by Muslims in the course of the week's events at the Charlie Hebdo offices and Hyper Casher Kosher supermarket. The first is Ahmed Merabet, a French policeman who was killed at Charlie Hebdo. Anne Penketh of The Guardian recognized him in a recent report:
Policeman Ahmed Merabet mourned after death in Charlie Hebdo attack It was a Muslim policeman from a local police station who was “slaughtered like a dog” after heroically trying to stop two heavily armed killers from fleeing the Charlie Hebdo offices following the massacre. Tributes to Ahmed Merabet poured in on Thursday after images of his murder at point blank range by a Kalashnikov-wielding masked terrorist circulated around the world. Merabet, who according to officials was 40, was called to the scene while on patrol with a female colleague in the neighbourhood, just in time to see the black Citroën used by the two killers heading towards the boulevard from Charlie Hebdo.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 09, 2015 8 Comments
The attack by radical Islamists at the Paris Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket left four hostages dead, plus one of the gunmen. The Hyper Cacher supermarket attack appears to have been coordinated with the two men who killed 12 at Charlie Hebdo. The specter of widespread anti-Semitism on the streets of Paris is nothing new. It has been fueled not only by centuries-old hatreds, but by the more modern Islamist, "anti-Zionist" and BDS movements whose hatred of Israel is obsessive and dehumanizing. Below are a couple of videos from the assaults on Jewish sections of Paris and a Synagogue during "pro-Palestinian" riots last summer over the Gaza conflict. See also several of my posts (some of the videos in the posts have gone bad):

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 09, 2015 12 Comments
Overnight Eastern time a Kosher supermarket in Paris was attacked. Reports indicate two people killed and multiple people being held hostage. Meanwhile, the murderers of the the staff of Charlie Hebdo apparently are cornered and also have one or more hostages. UPDATES: France Hostage Takers Attackers Charlie Kosher Supermarket Sky News Four Hostages Dead Sky News Hostages Freed Jewish Grocery

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 07, 2015 37 Comments
There was an attack on a French satirical publication, Charlie Hebdo, using automatic weapons and a rocket-propelled grenade, killing 12. The killers are at large as of this writing. The NY Times reports:
Masked gunmen with automatic weapons opened fire in the offices of a French satirical newspaper on Wednesday in Paris, the police said, killing 12 people and then escaping in a car. President François Hollande said the attack on the weekly, Charlie Hebdo, was “without a doubt” an act of terrorism and raised the nationwide terror alert to its highest status. He said that several terrorist attacks had been thwarted in recent weeks.... A senior French prosecutor said the victims included two police officers, including one assigned to guard the newspaper’s offices and its top editor. The second officer was shot and killed as he lay on the ground, the police said.... [A] United States official noted that, according to social media reports, the attackers did refer to the Prophet Muhammad, saying he was “avenged.”
(More video and Twitter updates later in post)
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