French President Francois Hollande said he will make fighting racism and anti-semitism his national cause for 2015. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – French President Francois Hollande used his New Year’s Eve address to vow to fight the growing racism and anti-Semitism that plagued France last year.

Highlighting “the rising, worrying threats” of terrorism and fundamentalism, Hollande urged the French to not succumb to fear,The Associated Press reported.

France, which has both the largest Muslim and Jewish populations in western Europe, saw a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism in 2014, especially in reaction Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against the Hamas terrorist group last summer. France’s Jewish community suffered several violent attacks, including a recent home invasion and rape in which the attackers referenced the victims’ Jewish faith.

According to Israeli government statistics, French Jewish immigration to Israel doubled in 2014 to 7,000 arrivals, up from 3,400 in 2013.