Antisemitism pervades the right side of the French political spectrum. The president of the right wing National Front party, Marine Le Pen, said there should be a ban on kippah wearing in France.
After she called for a ban on Muslims from wearing head coverings, now Le Pen is calling for a ban on kippahs in the name of equality between Muslims and Jews in the country.
“If we banned the burka, we should also ban kippahs in the entire public sector,” Le Pen claimed and said that she has nothing against wearing kippahs but “in the name of equality we have to do this. We cannot just ban Muslim dress because then they will say we hate Muslims.”
The Jewish community, which heard about this statement just before the Sukkot holiday, responded with outrage, calling Le Pen “the despised woman.”
The National Front Party won over 20% in the last elections and her stance is anti-religious, although Muslims always stood as a top priority for party criticism. This is not the first time Le Pen has expressed positions that offended Jews; previously, she called for a ban on prayer in schools and a ban on providing kosher and halal meals in schools.
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