French Jewish writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy was called ‘’Jewish dog’’ during a visit to Libya where he is doing a reporting trip to the ‘’killing fields’’ for the Wall Street Journal.
According to a video posted on social media, thugs tried to block his convoy on his way from Tarhuna to Misrata. One man was heard shouting “Jewish dog.”
The Jerusalem Post also quoted a report by Anadolu, the pro-government press agency in Turkey, as highlighting the “Jewish” aspect of the trip. He was called a “controversial French Jewish intellectual” in a headline on the pro-AK Party website, which is one of the main backers of Turkey’s government.
Ankara’s regime has been escalating the conflict in Libya in recent months, shipping Syrian mercenaries recruited from refugee camps to Libya and sending drones and weapons to Tripoli.
Libya is in the middle of a civil war between the Turkish-backed government in Tripoli (GNA) and the eastern Libya-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar who is backed by Egypt, the UAE, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Greece.
Levy has said he wanted to visit the town of Tarhuna, where government forces have uncovered a mass grave they say contains the bodies of civilians executed by forces loyal to Haftar. The GNA has accused Haftar of war crimes, while pro-Haftar accounts accuse the GNA of being “terrorists.”
Turkish media slammed Bernard-Henri Levy for being Jewish. It noted that the Interior Minister of Tripoli had “denied reports of inviting [the]controversial French Jewish intellectual.”
‘’The way in which reports of Levy’s visit were tinged with antisemitism appears in contrast to the portrayal of the Tripoli government as the moderate “UN-backed government.” Critics of the GNA claim it is infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is known for its antisemitism,’’ commented The Jerusalem Post.