‘Torrent of anti-Semitism’ floods Twitter after French Jewish school linked to cheating

“Any opportunity will serve for the dissemination of anti-Semitic hatred,” said the director of the American Jewish Committee’s Europe office.

By World Israel News Staff

Anti-Semitic posts are flooding Twitter after a report earlier this month in Le Parisien news that a French Jewish school cheated on baccalaureate exams.

Following revelation of the scandal, which involved the Ozar-HaTorah Jewish high school in Créteil, France, journalist Fredieric Metezeau wrote on France Inter news on July 8, that a “torrent” of anti-Semitic comments have been posted on Twitter.

Metezeau noted that the most “disgusting comments are linked to old anti-Jewish clichés.”

He pointed out, “But above all, it is interesting to see that our Parisian colleagues did not mention that Ozar-HaTorah was a Jewish high school. They probably thought to limit extremist comments because yes, today, we journalists are reluctant to give all the information (which is the basis of our business) when we know that it can excite hatred.”

Metezeau ended his post by questioning his own judgment in publicizing the hate comments.

“[W]as it necessary to speak about it, this morning, on France Inter radio with a great listening audience? To talk about it is to echo the phenomenon… To shut up is to make oneself into an ostrich and risk that it will be worse next time…”

The cheating investigation by the Education Ministry uncovered that a supervisor at the school and a student may have leaked subject matter on college entrance exams. The school is known in France for receiving some of the highest grades on the exams.

News of the rampant anti-Semitic comments online broke just as the National Assembly was reviewing legislation to fight online hate speech. The bill, being debated in the French parliament, gives social media platforms 24 hours to remove online hate or face large fines.

Director of the American Jewish Committee’s Europe office Simone Rodan-Benzaquen wrote on her Twitter account July 8, “We knew it was coming,” she wrote. “Any opportunity will serve for the dissemination of anti-Semitic hatred. And this case of fraud in the final exams is no exception.”

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