European Court Has Opened Floodgates to Nazi-Style Boycotts of Jewish Products Across the Continent

PARIS - Last Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) - a tribunal that tests the jurisprudential rulings of Europeanstates - cancelled the French highest appeals court 2015 conviction against eleven BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) activists against the State of Israel.

France views BDS as an incitement to antisemitism. The ECHR ruled that the BDSers’ penalty violated their “freedom ofexpression.”

In 2010, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, Dr.Shimon Samuels, was present on the scene, “as BDS‘stormtroopers’ invest[ed] the kosher sections of French supermarkets, rushing their trollies past terrified cashiers, to burn their loot outside... French Jews cannot help but recall the Naziand Vichy collaborator slogan 'Kaufen Nicht bei Juden' ('Do not buy from the Jews!').”

“Attacking the Kosher shelves (not just trashing Israeli products) is now tested under [French] laws...,”

Samuels' article was published in the collection, “Anti-Judaism, Antisemitism and Delegitimizing Israel,” edited by the late RobertWistrich, (2016) University of Nebraska Press.

The Centre had applauded the activation of the 2003 French Lellouche Law, banning discrimination based on national origin and appliedto the BDS cases.

In 2013, the Quai d’Orsay (Foreign Ministry) had reinforced, the definition, “calling to boycott Israel is indeed illegal inFrance. Several decisions of the highest criminal court [Cour de Cassation] confirmed that calling to boycott breaks the law and constitutes an incitement to discrimination or hate based onnational origin or religion.”

“The same French Cassation court upheld my four year appeal on a charge of defamation brought against me by the CBSP (le Comité deBienfaisance et Secours aux Palestiniens - the Committee for Charity and Support for the Palestinians)... Since then,the adoption - first by the European Parliament then by the French Parliament- of the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of Antisemitism, also includes BDS”, noted Samuels.

"The Wiesenthal Centre is urging the French Justice Ministry to launch an immediate appeal against the European Court ruling, whichhas opened the floodgates for Nazi-style boycotts of both Israeli and Diaspora Jewish products across the continent,” concluded Samuels.

For further information, contact Samuels at csweurope@gmail.com, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sentdirectly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations,UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).