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I don't really think that DSK's being Jewish has any significance for
the millions of French people who, according to most opinion polls, were
ready to vote for him in the coming presidential elections. Indeed, I
personally have never heard ANY reference to his Jewishness being
brought up in conversations with coworkers, fellow café patrons, family,
friends or street bystanders. I recall quite distinctly many people
expressing their concerns that the head of the IMF - who had overseen
Greece's rough-handling - would quite naturally implement extreme
austerity measures were he to be elected. Quite frankly, to most French
people, the fact that he was the head of the IMF was DSK's greatest
liability, not the fact that he was Jewish. I believe DSK himself new
that he would have to distance himself vigorously from the IMF in the
months leading up to the election, because of the very negative image
that international institution has in the eyes of the French. His whole
strategy revolved around showing him to be a "progressive" force within
the IMF, who tried hard to get the institution to change its
"neo-liberal"/"Friedmanite"/"neo-monetarist" policies, but eventually
failed because of the stupidity and arrogance of US policy-makers. The
man who tried to reform global finance, the man who was recognized as
doing a good job in trying to change IMF policies, ergo, the man most
suited for becoming the next French president.
The whole "Jewish" thing is frankly preposterous. Like saying that Al
Gore lost in 2000 because Joe Lieberman was the Democratic
vice-president nominee.
Again, I NEVER HEARD, READ or SAW ANYTHING that might suggest that
Strauss-Kahn's Jewish identity could seriously prevent him from becoming
the next French president. It just never came up, AT ALL. And another
Socialist candidate, Fabius, is also Jewish. And ex-Socialist candidate
Lionel Jospin was Protestant (in a "Catholic" country).
It all reeks of the obsession certain agenda-setting members of the
American Jewish community have of depicting France as an "Anti-Semitic"
nation. Regardless of the fact that opinion polls consistently show that
French people are no more anti-semitic than American people.
The opinion poll used by a certain segment of the American Jews to
demonstrate "European rabid anti-semitism" is the famous 2006 poll in
which respondents from various European countries were asked the
following question : "Do you believe Jews have too much power in the
business world ?". Well, France actually came after Germany, Belgium and
the UK in "anti-semitism", with Germany 35%, Belgium 34%, UK 25%, France
24%, Spain 23%, Switzerland 18%.
I do not know if a comparable poll has been conducted in the US.
However, many American Jews have gone on a rampage accusing France of
being a nation of closet Anti-Semites, though some observers feel that
this accusation may have more to do with France's (moderately)
pro-Palestinian stance. Since Sarkozy was elected, ties with Israel have
been strengthened, and much less is heard about French Anti-Semitism in
the US media.
Another fact worth mentioning, is that Israelis who emigrated to Israel
from France are the most prone to leave Israel after a few years and
move back to France. Apparently, the cultural gap is quite difficult to
bridge for French Jews trying to integrate into Israeli society.
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