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A man holds a torn poster of President Bush, as he shouts slogans during a pro-Palestinian march in Paris
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PARIS,
April 7 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Twenty one French
Jewish intellectuals called on Israel to stop its military
aggression against the Palestinians and called Israeli prime
minister a war criminal because of the massacres done to the
Palestinians by the Israeli occupation forces.
The
French Jewish intellectuals published Saturday, April 6, a statement
in the French daily newspaper, Le Monde, titled “Israel’s
Support Is Not In Our Names.”
They
said in the statement that the United Nations got used to continuous
accusations of the Palestinians, and those (U.N.) who claim they run
the world’s judgment must turn their eyes and see the outlawed
Israeli aggression committed by the war criminal Sharon.
They
also called on Israel to comply with the U.N. resolutions, including
the unconditional withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian
territories and the dismantling of Jewish settlements.
The
Jewish intellectuals called on the U.N. to adopt serious measures
against the Israeli government which does not respect international
laws.
“Israeli
leaders are manipulating the collective memory of the Nazi
atrocities and violate the Palestinian democratic and national
rights, claiming that the aim is guaranteeing Jewish safety
worldwide,” the statement said.
“Violating
the Palestinian right appears clearly in the Israeli leaders’
decisions, they [Israeli leaders] are not only justifying the return
of the Jews to Israel depending on the history belonging to this
land [Palestinian territories],and they are refusing to admit the
Palestinians history right in living on their own land, But the
[Israelis] liquidate and deport the Palestinians,” the statement
added.
The
statement also described the current policy as being “evil”,
confirming that such policy would bring a catastrophe to the Middle
East, not just for the Palestinians but for the Israelis too, who
are faced by the resistance operations.
The
French Jews also protested besieging Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat in Ramallah, describing the siege as a humiliation to the
Palestinian Authority.
The
statement was signed by the previous chairman of the Medecins Sans
Frontieres, Roni Broman, a French lawyer Jesel Helimi, an academic
professor, Wily Rosenbom and the French historian, Pierre Fidal
Naki.
Meanwhile,
thousands of protesters took to the streets in Paris Saturday to
denounce the Israeli blitz on the West Bank, in a massive but
peaceful show of support for the Palestinians.
Nearly
20,000 people heeded a call by labor unions and human rights groups,
with other rallies around France, as well as in Bahrain, Chile,
Jordan, Turkey and the United States.
A
large group of women in traditional black Arab headscarves marched
to the central Bastille Square along with leading French union and
pacifist figures, some of whom had until recently been holed up in
Yasser Arafat's besieged headquarters in Ramallah, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
To
the cries of "Sharon and Bush - murderers", referring to
the Israeli and U.S. leaders, protesters at the head of the march
carried a banner reading "Support the Palestinian resistance
against the occupation."
In
Paris, Christophe Aguiton of the anti-globalization organization
ATTAC said "you can't deny people their human rights,"
commenting on the Israeli reoccupation of Palestinian territories
March 29.
Anna,
a philosophy student in Paris, was worried that Israel would
"take the same liberties with the Palestinians as the United
States did in Afghanistan."
One
demonstrator, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was carried on a
stretcher through Parisian streets, similar to a ceremonial burial
of Palestinians who have died as martyrs fighting Israel.
Rallies
elsewhere in France
mobilized thousands in Nantes, Rennes and Rouen in the west, Lille
in the north, Strasbourg and Metz in the east, Grenoble in the
southeast and Marseille in the south.
The
marches were also to protest all racist acts at a time when
anti-Semitic acts have increased in France. Jewish organizations
plan their own protests across the country on Sunday, April 7, with
a Jewish sports club in southern France
firebombed in the latest attack.
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