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An Invented Attack Leads to Decreasing Condemnation of Anti-Semitism in France: A Case Study

November 28, 2007 | Yohanan Winogradsky

The affair of a falsely reported anti-Semitic attack on a woman in a suburban Paris train station in 2004 greatly affected how French politicians and media deal with anti-Semitism. Initially, all voices condemned the incident as the "victim" gave dramatic details. The increase in anti-Semitic acts since 2000 lent credence to the supposed aggression. The revelation that the story had been fabricated was met with almost total political silence. The media focused on apologies to nonintegrated communities, the supposed source of the invented assailants. Three years later, in 2007, a real anti-Semitic attack in Marseilles did not receive any public attention. The precedent of the fabricated 2004 incident appears to have significantly harmed the fight against anti-Semitism.