French senators propose bill to ban criticism of Zionism

November 3, 2023 at 8:37 pm

French right-wing Les Republicains (LR) Senate member Stephane Le Rudulier poses for a photo session in Paris on September 14, 2022. 

(Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP) (Photo by JOEL SAGET/AFP

 via Getty Images)

A group of 16 French senators have introduced a bill to criminalise criticism of Zionism.

Senator Stephane Le Rudulier said ‘anti-Zionism’ is linked to the increase in anti-Semitism.

Zionism, the racist Jewish nationalist movement, has led to the forced displacement of over a million Palestinians, and the arrest of a million more.

According to renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappe: “Zionism was a colonialist movement that penetrated the Palestinian homeland by force, with the wish to colonise the country and with possible expansionist ambitions to penetrate the heart of the Arab world.”

Last month, France banned pro-Palestine protests “because they are likely to generate disturbances to the public order,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. He added that any organisation of such protests will lead to arrests.

France has long supported Israel’s settler colonial project in Palestine, providing arms and diplomatic cover for its genocidal bombing campaign which is ongoing in Gaza.