Kuwaiti student convicted over anti-Semitic hate post
The High Court of Paris took action against Amira Jumaa after she shared a racist online post
A French court convicted a university student from Kuwait of incitement to hatred following her anti-Semitic rants in social media.
The High Court of Paris convicted Amira Jumaa, 21, on Wednesday, Le Monde Juif reported. The report did not say whether she was sentenced.
Last year, Junaa lost her internship at the French Consulate in New York and was suspended from the Sciences Po University in Paris for writing a racist Facebook post about Jews. She has since been readmitted pending an internal probe.
“You don’t belong anywhere in this world — that’s why you guys are scums and rats and discriminated against wherever you are. Do not blame it on the poor Palestinians,” she wrote.
In response to being accused of racism, Jumaa wrote: “First of all you dispersed rat, I am not an immigrant from France. I am from Kuwait so my country can buy you and your parents and put you in ovens.”
Separately, Jean Fréderic Poisson, a right-wing politician who said Hillary Clinton is a danger to France and Europe because of her “submission to Zionist lobbies,” as he put it, apologised for those offended by his statements. But he also reaffirmed that his statement reflects his view.
Still, he said during a radio interview for FranceInfo, “my remarks caused concern for many in the Jewish community. I’m sorry. I ask for their forgiveness because this was not my intention.”
But he insisted that Clinton carries “bias” because of an influence he said that AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby in Washington, has on her.
Poisson is a National Assembly lawmaker whose Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing outlier of the Republicans’ center-right coalition in the 2017 presidential election.
In an article published last week by the Nice Matin newspaper, Poisson, who is one of seven candidates competing for the Republican leadership in the primaries, was quoted as saying about Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate in the United States, that her “closeness to the super funders of Wall Street and her submission to Zionist lobbies are dangerous for Europe and for France.”
Francis Kalifat, the president of CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities, demanded Poisson be sanctioned by his party in a statement he made last week.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
