Julien Théry, a medievalist and professor at the University of Lyon II, known for his role in Le Média, a YouTube channel closely aligned with La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), has just posted a list on Facebook of "20 genocidaires to boycott under all circumstances." The list includes the names of dangerous extremists such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pascal Bruckner, Mona "Jefarian" (pronounced "Jafarian"), Haïm Korsia, Arthur, Alain Minc, Joann Sfar, and Philippe Torreton. Thus, twenty courageous individuals, many of whom have criticized the policies of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, are being targeted by all those who defend the theory of a genocide methodically planned by the State of Israel. Whatever one's opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this publication is an unforgivable moral failing because it puts a target on the backs of twenty people who, for their part, have never called for any violence. So what is their common denominator? It's easy to identify two. The first is simply their Jewishness. Admittedly, this only applies to about fifteen of them, which will undoubtedly allow Julien Théry and his friends to highlight a certain diversity in their choices. This tactic will fool no one. The second common denominator is obviously the defense of Israel's right to exist as a state and the conviction that there is a fundamental difference between "terrorists" and "resistance fighters." In a recent article, Julien Théry was particularly clear: "The three fundamental tenets of contemporary Zionism—namely, the existence of a nation uniting all Jews, its vocation to build a nation-state, and the latter's right to a territory in Palestine (tenets shared by many anti-Semites)—are indefensible without strong ideological biases coupled with historical falsifications." In summary, Israel's right to exist is not "defensible".
The list of infamies published by Julien Théry is not the result of an uncontrolled fit of temper. The author recently developed his "ideas" in a text aimed at proving that the very concept of left-wing antisemitism is "fake news," a "neoliberal-Zionist manipulation." Drawing on, among others, Houria Bouteldja, an indigenous rights activist known for having notably declared, "Killing an Israeli kills two birds with one stone, eliminating both an oppressor and an oppressed at the same time," or "One cannot be Israeli innocently," Théry argues that "the only modern antisemitism is that of the nationalist right." Therefore, there would be neither left-wing antisemitism nor Islamist antisemitism (the latter question is not even raised). In reality, for this professor from Lyon, left-wing antisemitism, though well-documented and thoroughly researched in numerous publications, is an invention, or rather, an "instrumentalization of Jews (...) by Western ruling elites." Readers astonished by such a denial of reality must understand the rhetorical device at work here. When the facts seem self-evident, academics who confuse scholarly research with ideology explain to anyone who will listen that what they thought they clearly saw doesn't exist. Julien Théry also explains that Islamo-leftism was created as a "new internal enemy," to take over "from 'Judeo-Bolshevism' in the minds of the conservative bourgeoisie." It is certainly no coincidence that a large part of this historian's medieval research aimed to show that the Cathar heresy did not exist as such, but was the result of a kind of clerical conspiracy aimed at establishing the Church's domination over Christian society…
Beyond the creation of an anti-Jewish list, beyond the utterly biased arguments Julien Théry puts forward in his article, one cannot help but be shocked by this mixture of blind activism and purported scientific rigor. It is indeed in the name of his supposed expertise as a historian that this colleague denies Israel the right to exist as a state, that he rejects any even remotely accurate factual description of contemporary realities, and, above all, that he presents a list of predominantly Jewish figures who have the misfortune of not belonging to the far-left, "anti-genocidal" wing of the political spectrum. Left-wing antisemitism has always existed: it was born of a frenzied anti-capitalism and has found a second wind with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Some may be surprised that it is—for some—so easily reconciled with left-wing values: at this point, the only response seems to be, for its apologists, a blatant denial of evidence and facts. That this shameful evasion could be perpetrated by academics normally committed to the principle of value neutrality, that it cloaks itself in the prestige of scientific research, that it even justifies the creation of lists reminiscent of our darkest hours—this is a reality we cannot accept.
The fight against antisemitism, in all its forms and wherever it comes from, is neither right nor left. It transcends political affiliations because it is an essential condition of our dignity. We, intellectuals, academics, scholars, and researchers, call for it to be pursued with courage and tenacity.
Opinion piece published by Le Figaro FIGAROVOX/OPINION[1].
