France’s Macron expels party member over BDS support

Macron expelled a parliamentary candidate from his party over his support for boycotts on Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche Political party dropped a candidate for National Assembly elections in June over his support of the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) movement.

William Tchamaha, a high school counselor, who was removed on Thursday, called Israel an “outlaw state that disdains international law” and urged a boycott of Israeli products.

Promoting a boycott of countries or their citizens is illegal in France, where it is classified as hate speech, as per legislation from 2003.

“Boycott Israeli products and [apply] an economic embargo!” he tweeted in February.

In a now-deleted tweet, Tchamaha included a link to a news story on UN criticism of a new Israeli law that allegedly facilitates the theft of Palestinian land.

In 2015, commenting on Palestinian terror attacks, Tchamaha wrote that “the massacre continues and the Palestinians get the blame.”

The is the second time Macron’s party removed a candidate over anti-Israel or anti-Jewish comments.

Last week, En Marche withdrew another candidate from its list, Christian Gerin, a journalist, for anti-Semitic tweets.

Macron himself has been critical of the BDS movement.

Macron also denounced boycotts of Israel during his campaign, deeming them anti-Semitic. “The role of France is to conduct an independent and balanced policy that would guarantee a dialogue by all sides and the construction of peace,” Macron said during a visit to Lebanon in January. “France has already condemned boycotting Israel, and I have no intention of changing this position.”

The Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, ruled in October 2015 that the BDS campaign is a form of hate speech.

By: World Israel News Staff