‘Jews live here’: French anti-antisemitism campaign hits close to home

A new campaign against antisemitism in France was launched, showing French Jews hiding their identities for fear of discrimination.

The campaign was launched by the International League Against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA) to combat the staggering rise of antisemitism in France in the past year.

The video shows the effect of antisemitism on French Jews through the eyes of a non-Jewish family friend.

It shows the family watching the news about another antisemitic attack, them changing their name on all public areas, including delivery and ride-sharing apps, letterboxes, etc.

It then shows the family removing their mezuzah, followed by the young daughter saying “We can’t wear it [Star of David] in the street. They say we can’t be standing out.”

This is followed by more instances of the family hiding their identity, unfollowing people on social media, and refusing to appear Jewish in public as the friend slowly becomes more shocked at how normalized the antisemitism is.

The friend sees graffiti marking the family’s apartment as Jewish, “Ici vivent des Juifs [Jews live here].”

The final scene shows the mother asking her son to close the curtains before they welcome Shabbat. The friend asks her not to, but she does not want the neighbors to see them.

Liberté! – Egalité! – Fraternité?

It closes by saying, “When women and men hide their identity, France forfeits its fraternity. Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité.”

The final phrase is the national motto of France, which originated during the French Revolution and was enshrined constitutionally in 1958.

The campaign stated that antisemitism in France rose 284% in 2023. However, the purpose of this campaign was to humanize and give a face to those statistics.

Over two-thirds of French Jews do not feel safe in France, and nearly two-fifths are considering making aliyah.

LICRA was launched in 1927 and originally called “The League Against Pogroms,” but was quickly renamed to the International League Against Antisemitism in 1927 and then was renamed again in 1979 to include racism.

JPost