In an interview during the 2021 Miss France contest, Miss Provence, April Benayoun, noted, “I have an array of origins: my mother is Serbo-Croat, my father Israeli-Italian. This gave me a passion for geography and the discerning of other cultures.”

This comment won her tweets such as: “Uncle Hitler forgot to exterminate you Miss Provence.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has expressed outrage at the wave of antisemitic attacks on social media against April Benayoum, Miss Provence and first runner-up in Miss France 2021 beauty contest.

21-year-old April Benayoum was awarded second place in the pageant during a televised ceremony on Saturday night.

In an interview during the event, she noted, “I have an array of origins: my mother is Serbo-Croat, my father Israeli-Italian. This gave me a passion for geography and the discerning of other cultures.”

This comment won her tweets such as: “Uncle Hitler forgot to exterminate you Miss Provence.” Other tweets include:

– “Miss Provence is Israeli, so those who vote for her, her mother is a prostitute!”

– “Miss Provence is linked to Israel; let’s get rid of her!”

– “Where there are Jews, it is right to have antisemitism!”

– “Tell Miss Provence that Israel doesn’t exist; it is Palestine!”

The attacks have led to a police investigation.

In a letter to Miss France Competition Director-General, Sylvie Tellier, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Shion Samuels, wrote: “There have been critiques of feminist organizations who consider beauty competitions as debasing to women, but this year – the Miss France centenary – will be remembered as a sick exercise in Jew-hatred.’’

Samuels added, “Madam Director-General, we suggest that the Competition’s response – beside a protest to Twitter – should be its adoption of the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) Definition of Antisemitism. We are ready to assist in bringing this tool – that has been adopted so far by the EU, France, a number of democracies worldwide, international organizations, universities, football clubs and sport federations, municipalities, administrations, private businesses and NGOs – to cleanse the filth that has sullied this Miss France Competition.’’

‘’Our message to France’s Deputy Beauty Queen, Ms. Benayoum, is from the Diary of Anne Frank: “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy!” concluded Samuels.

In an interview with the Var-Matin, a daily nwspaper in southern France, April  Benayoum said she heard about the anti-Jewish insults from her relatives. “It is sad to witness such behaviour in 2020,” she said. “I obviously condemn these comments, but it does not affect me at all,” she added.

France, which has Europe’s largest Jewish population of around half a million, has seen an increase of the number of anti-Semitic attacks in recent years.