Finkielkraut Facing Backlash From France

Alain Finkielkraut, the French-Jewish philosopher, gave an interview to Haaretz.

In the course of that interview, Finkielkraut, a former spokesmen of the French left, said some things that he described as"not things he can say in France anymore." In fact, he also said, "It's impossible, perhaps even dangerous, to say these things in France now."

Well, here comes the backlash! "Finkielkraut will be sued for inciting hatred," vowed the chairman of Movement against Racism and for Friendship between People (MRAP), Mouloud Aounit. This is the same group that has been trying through the French Courts to censor Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci and her book "the Rage and the Pride".

The Audio-Visual Council (Le Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel) urged the France Culture radio to sack Finkielkraut and keep his weekly program from the airwaves.

There are others calling for his persecution because the French are in total denial.The Chief of Interior Intelligence Service Pierre de Bousquet told French broadcasting, that Islam should by no way take the blame for the work of angry youths.

However, as Finkielkraut pointed out, "In France, they would like very much to reduce these riots to their social dimension, to see them as a revolt of youths from the suburbs against their situation, against the discrimination they suffer from, against the unemployment. The problem is that most of these youths are blacks or Arabs, with a Muslim identity. Look, in France there are also other immigrants whose situation is difficult - Chinese, Vietnamese, Portuguese - and they're not taking part in the riots. Therefore, it is clear that this is a revolt with an ethno-religious character."

He states the facts, the truth of the situation. I will give you this last quote and encourage you to read the whole interview. It is criminal that this man's opinion is under attack.

"This problem is the problem of all the countries of Europe. In Holland, they've been confronting it since the murder of Theo van Gogh. The question isn't what is the best model of integration, but just what sort of integration can be achieved with people who hate you."