Paris
In a letter to the French Minister of Higher Education, Frederique Vidal, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, expressed outrage at the,"Disruption and forced closure of the 'Stopover in Israel' exhibition and a Hebrew language course at Lille University, following a demonstration by, so called, pro-Palestinian students andprofessors."
The letter noted, "This four-day cultural festival of workshops, including music and cuisine, is an exercise in 'BDS' (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) against Israel, a hatemongering campaigncharacterized as illegal under French law, and also in this case, a threat to freedom of expression."
Samuels stressed, "Succumbing to such threats only encourages demonstrations, often leading to violence and fomenting antisemitism."
The Centre urged the Minister to, "Condemn the Lille decision and to ensure that any further gagging of Jewish/Israeli campus programmes be forestalled through the authority of yourMinistry."
"The behavior at Lille University must not be a precedent", concluded Samuels.
For further information please contact Shimon Samuels +33-609-770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the UnitedStates. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).