France's Jewish community, the largest in Europe, has elected a SephardicJew as its new leader for the first time in half a century.
Algerian-born Francis Kalifat was unanimously elected as new president of the Jewish umbrella organization CRIF. He said his priority was to "fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms". The 63-year-old will also serve as a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC).
Kalifat takes over at a highly sensitive time for French Jews, who were targeted when a jihadist gunman linked to the attackers of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo killed four hostages in the siege of a kosher supermarket in January 2015.
More than 800 anti-Semitic acts and threats were recorded in France last year, and more than 40 percent of all hate crimes registered in France are against Jews, which only make up 1 percent of the French population.
Reaffirming the political independence of CRIF, he clearly expressed his rejection of any dialogue with the extreme-left as well as with the extreme-right National Front party. ''My mandate will be that of zero tolerance towards all forms of anti-Jewish hatred, including anti-Zionism spread by the BDS (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions) movement,'' he pointed out.
World Jewish Congress leadership congratulates Kalifat
WJC President Ronald S. Lauder welcomed the election of Kalifat as “an excellent choice” and said he looked forward to working with him in defeating anti-Semitism and securing Jewish life in France. ”Francis Kalifat is an experienced Jewish leader, and I am sure he will be a great CRIF president,” Lauder remarked. He thanked outgoing CRIF President Roger Cukierman for showing “great leadership in difficult times.”
Lauder said: “Like no-one else, Roger managed to give French Jewry a voice in times of great challenges. His service and dedication to the Jewish people is enormous, and from the bottom of my heart I thank him for all he has done not just in France, but also internationally.”
WJC CEO Robert Singer also congratulated Kalifat on his election. “As Jewish people, we need to be united, and the World Jewish Congress looks forward to working with Francis in the coming months and years to ensure that Jews can have a good future in France.”
The CRIF was set up in Lyon in 1944 as the successor of the General Committee of Jewish Defense created during the resistance in Nazi German-occupied France. The CRIF is the French affiliate of the World Jewish Congress.
France's Jewish community is the third largest in the world and the largest in Europe. It has somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 members.
