French Ambassador to the UN François Delattre called on the global community to unite in the fight against antisemitism. Photo: Video Screenshot.

France’s ambassador to the United Nations issued a call for uncompromising opposition to antisemitism, which he said is posing a growing threat to Jews and non-Jews alike.

In an interview at the third annual Algemeiner “Jewish 100 Gala” in New York City late last month, François Delattre asserted that “the fight against antisemitism is an existential fight for each and every one of us.”

“The only way to fight against antisemitism is to be ballistic against it, not to admit any words, any action,” he said. “Otherwise, the old antisemitism will come back again and that’s something Europe cannot tolerate today. We have to have a zero tolerance policy vis-à-vis any form and any kind of antisemtism.”

French-Israeli artist Ron Agam, who was also present at the gala, held at Gotham Hall, praised the ambassador’s stance on antisemitism, telling The Algemeiner on Monday: “In a time where the United Nations is a nest of antisemitic attacks, to have a friend like French Ambassador François Delattre, the Jewish people and Israel should cherish this man and France’s position against antisemitism.”

The ambassador’s remarks come amid a rising tide of antisemitic attacks that are plaguing Europe. France saw a major spike in antisemitic incidents in 2015 and these attacks are expected to continue in intensity, said Robert Ejness, director general of CRIF, French Jewry’s umbrella organization, in a recent interview with VICE News.  

Jews are now leaving France in record numbers. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, over 8,000 French Jews moved to Israel in the year following the HyperCacher kosher supermarket attack in January 2015, compared to approximately 3,300 French Jews who moved to Israel in 2013. 

Watch Delattre’s interview below: