Some chants routinely heard at anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests around the world are antisemitic, said France’s human rights ambassador, two days after 15 people were killed in a shooting attack at a Sydney Hanukkah event.

“‘From the river to the sea.’ We consider that to have an antisemitic purpose,” Isabelle Lonvis-Rome told The Times of Israel during an interview in Jaffa. “That’s clear.”

Lonvis-Rome, whose remit includes the fight against antisemitism and perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust, was in Israel to represent France at the Jerusalem Plenary of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance at Yad Vashem, which Israel currently heads.

Antisemitism has skyrocketed worldwide, including in France, since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Antisemitic acts in France nearly quadrupled in 2024, with 1,570 incidents recorded, or 62 percent of all religious hate crimes in the country, according to the Jewish organization Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (CRIF).

Of these, 65% included violent aggression against people, and over 10% were physical assaults. This surge has created a climate where French Jews increasingly feel the need to hide their identity, such as by removing mezuzahs from homes........

© The Times of Israel