Cukierman defends his right to criticize French government

Roger Cukierman, the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), has defended what he regards as his right to criticize the French government over its Middle East policy. In an interview with the station RTL, Cukierman defended his statement that French foreign policy with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was "incompatible" with the fight against anti-Semitism at home, although it was currently shifting in the right direction. "It is true that the authorities do their best to combat the plague that is anti-Semitism and racism, but one has to fight it even harder." Cukierman added that while the government did a lot, the French society still had to take the necessary steps. He deplored a climate in which being anti-Semite was considered just an opinion like all others.