French Holocaust survivor condemns far-right anti-vaccine protests
On Sunday, July 18, a memorial service was held at the Square of Jewish Martyrs in Paris. This was part of the commemorations marking Memorial Day for the victims of racism and anti-Semitism in France.
At this ceremony, 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Joseph Szwarc publicly denounced the comparisons made at the protest between anti-vaccination campaigners and the 6 million European Jews murdered during the Second World War.
The anti-“health pass” protests were called by leading neo-fascists, including Marion Maréchal Le Pen and Florian Philippot, the head of the neo-fascist Patriots Party. Tens of thousands of people marched throughout France, with far-right marchers joined by libertarian or pseudo-left middle-class groups opposed to vaccinations.
Several of the far-right march’s attendees were photographed wearing yellow stars of David with “not vaccinated” or “without vaccines” written at the centre of the star.
Referring to the far-right protests, Szwarc stated: “I would like to say how indignant I am about what has happened this week. You can’t imagine how moved I was by it.” Holding up an image of a Star of David that had been edited by protesters in aforementioned fashion, he added, “This comparison is odious!”
Speaking to applause, Szwarc continued, “We must all stand up against this ignominy. Tears came to me, I wore the star, I know what it is, I still have it in my flesh. It is the duty of all of us not to let this outrageous, anti-Semitic, racist wave pass. I believe that it is a primordial duty.”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/24/fran-j24.html
