French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen (AP/Michel Euler)
French nationalist Le Pen said French Jews should be banned from wearing a kippah (skullcap) as part of “the struggle against radical Islam.”
French nationalist Marine Le Pen vowed to put “France First” as she launched her presidential bid Sunday.
She outlined several of her campaign’s themes, including the fight against globalization and Muslim immigration into France, which she said threatens the country’s unique culture and identity.
Le Pen has repeatedly called to ban the wearing of the Muslim veil and the kippah, the Jewish religious head covering, on France’s streets.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 2 news in an interview which aired Friday, she said French Jews should be banned from wearing a kippah as part of “the struggle against radical Islam.”
“Honestly, the dangerous situation in which Jews in France live is such that those who walk with a kippah are in any case a minority, because they are afraid,” Le Pen said, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
“But I mainly think the struggle against radical Islam should be a joint struggle and everyone should say, ‘there, we are sacrificing something,’” she said, meaning the Jews should concede their head covering in favor of enabling a blanket ban on wearing of all religious garb in public, this banning the Muslim Hijab as well.
“Maybe they will do with just wearing a hat, but it would be a step in the effort to stamp out radical Islam in France,” she explained.
She also defended President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on citizens of seven countries entering the US, saying it was not an assault on Muslims.
“There are dozens of Muslim countries in the world that are not on this list”, she said.
“On the other hand, the fact that there are 15 countries that prevent entry to Israelis is not troubling anyone,” she pointed out.
A total of 16 majority-Muslim nations, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, prohibit the entry of Israeli citizens.
This group includes six of the seven countries targeted by Trump’s order. The Muslim ban on Israelis is ongoing and permanent.
Le Pen, the representative of the far-right National Front (FN) party, continues to gain popularity as France. Recent polls show that Le Pen has enough support to make it past the first round of France’s upcoming presidential elections, but not enough to win the second round slated for May 7.
By: World Israel News Staff
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