“Many of the stickers call for ‘separation between the French State and CRIF’ (the umbrella representative group of French Jewish institutions). Others, equating the State of Israel with Nazi Germany, cover lamp posts.”
In a letter to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, drew her attention to “a growing pandemic of antisemitic stickers’’ in and around Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est area, the main French capital’s train stations, in 10th arrondissement.
The letter stresses that, “many of the stickers call for ‘separation between the French State and CRIF’ (the umbrella representative group of French Jewish institutions). Others, equating the State of Israel with Nazi Germany, cover lamp posts.”
Samuels notes that , “calls for ‘BDS’ (Boycot, Divestment, Sanctions) against Israel, are stuck on banks – particularly HSBC and LCL – and insurance agencies front windows,” continuing, “local residents in the area claimed that waves of these stickers date back to July 2019, and are even visible on Google Street View.”
The Centre deplores that, “no steps have been taken to remove these ugly expressions of hate, that tarnish the beauty of Paris nor to penalize the perpetrators,” adding, “calls to the Police or LICRA (the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism) and other associations were received with elicited responses.
Samuels urged Paris Mayor ‘’to take necessary and early action to clean up this sticker virus that spreads hate across the city.’’