Upholding the convictions of twelve anti-Israel activists, France’s Supreme Court – the Court of Cassation – has confirmed that promoting a boycott of Israel is tantamount to “inciting hate or discrimination”.
Back in 2009 and 2010, a dozen ‘Boycott,Divestment, Sanctions’ (BDS) campaigners attempted to boycott Israeli products in France’s Carrefour supermarkets. The 12 anti-Israel boycotters, wearing shirts emblazoned with “Long Live Palestine, Boycott Israel” handed out pamphlets in the eastern city of Mulhouse alleging that the sale of Israeli goods supports “war crimes” in Gaza.
Chanting slogans including “Israel assassinates, Carrefour is complicit” the dozen activists – Laila Assakali, Yahya Assakali, Assya Ben Lakbir, Habiba Assakali, Sylviane Mure, Farida Sarr, Aline Parmentier, Mohammad Akbar, Jean-Michel Baldassi, Maxime Roll, Jacques Ballouey and Henry Eichholtzer – were found guilty of inciting hate or discrimination, reports The Times of Israel. Collectively the were fined just over €13,000 plus court expenses.
France’s highest appeal court recently confirmed the convictions of the 12 saying the actions demonstrated an attempt to discriminate against a particular country, reports European Jewish Press.
The Court of Cassation based its findings on the French Freedom of the Press law which forbids “discrimination, hatred or violence toward a person or group of people on grounds of their origin, their belonging or their not belonging to an ethnic group, a nation, a race or a certain religion.”
Pascal Markowicz, who heads the legal department at the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France (the umbrella group for French Jewish organisations), reiterated that the ruling means BDS campaigns singling out Israel are “completely illegal” in France, adding:
“If they say their freedom of expression has been violated, then now France’s highest legal instance ruled otherwise.”
As Breitbart London previously reported, Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s anti-mass migration National Front party, is currently being tried under the same law for her comments comparing Muslim street prayers to the wartime occupation of France.
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