Strikes on Gaza: “You will not have the silence of the Jews of France”

A collective of 85 Jewish personalities denounces the current military operation in Gaza and the exploitation of the legitimate emotion aroused by the attacks of October 7.

The UN announces possible ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip. As Jews, we are horrified by the violations of international law that the State of Israel is carrying out in Gaza with complete impunity and we refuse to allow this massacre to take place in our name.

We understand and share the pain and fear felt by many Jews in France following the war crimes of Hamas. The majority of us have family in Israel, and we wish to express our sympathy to the families of the victims of the October 7 massacres.

But this pain cannot justify ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The continuation of the war and occupation will bring neither peace nor the return of the hostages.

Gaza is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Following the October 7 attacks, which left 1,400 Israelis dead and at least 4,600 injured, Israel imposed a total siege of the Gaza Strip, a form of collective punishment contrary to international law. 200 Israelis remain held hostage in Gaza, and their fate matters less to the Israeli government than the crushing of the Palestinians.

Two million Gazans are deprived of water, food and electricity. Human rights organizations have documented the use of white phosphorus. Hospitals, but also places of worship where Gazans took refuge, were bombed.