Viva La Sarkozy?

We all know that France holds one of the more troubled Jewish populations in the Western world (as seen “here”:http://www.ejpress.org/article/16405, “here”:http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070419-0943-france-rabbi-.html, “here”:http://www.ejpress.org/article/16392, and of course “here”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilan_Halimi). That is not to say that the French, as a whole, are anti-Semitic or that Jews in France live in constant fear, as the “_New York Sun_”:http://www.nysun.com/article/53814 would have you believe. But yes, there are some problems in France that are being ignored and that need to be addressed.

That being said, it is only natural to wonder what the election of Nicolas Sarkozy means to French Jews, as well as Jews around the world.

Many Jewish and Israeli groups were quick to congratulate Sarko on his win yesterday, with the American Jewish Committee “saying,”:http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=3841629 “We have long admired Nicolas Sarkozy as a political leader deeply committed to France’s democratic values, his readiness to confront threats to those principles, and his dedication to strengthening trans-Atlantic relations” and the Israeli government giving him an equally glowing review.

Much has been made, by friend and foe alike, of Sarkozy’s Jewish roots. Sarko, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, was raised by his Jewish grandmother after his parents divorced. Though the religious aspects of Judaism do not seem to be a big part of his life, he has been an unusually vocal supporter of Israel and has addressed antisemitism in France more than most politicians there. One of the biggest charges by his critics, that he is xenophobic and anti-immigrant, can be seen by some as a boon to the Jewish community in France, for it seems that it is second-generation Muslim immigrants who are the cause for the sharp rise in anti-Semitic activity. But still, whenever somebody, anybody, takes issue with an immigrant group (and has at least mild racist tendencies), the hair on the back of Jews’ necks should perk up.

So, if Sarkozy has the implicit support of several Jewish groups, the stamp of approval of the Israeli government, and apparently the votes of a significant portion of the Jewish population in France, everything’s just peachy, right? Not exactly.

First off, when the Israeli government and certain prominent Jewish groups jump for joy over something, that something is often at odds with reality. It’s the same with the United States government: when they put on their Sunday best and announce that everything is going to change for the better, people have learned to head for the hills.

While Sarkozy may legitimately have the Jewish people in his thoughts, whether or not his policies do anything in the way of protecting them remains to be seen. Sarko’s anti-immigrant reputation and terse relationship with the French youth may only serve to disenfranchise more young Muslim men, which in turn will cause the level of violence against Jews in France to continue to rise. There is no greater cause of antisemitism in the world than joblessness and lack of education, and it is entirely possible that these issues will get worse under Sarkozy’s presidency.

Still, I have not ruled out the idea that Sarkozy could be just what France needs: a swift kick in the ass. And if this kick does what many are saying it will do (revitalize the country’s economy, restore France as a world power, etc.), then there is indeed a good chance that France will become a friendlier place to Jews and Arabs alike. Unfortunately, I’m not so convinced it will play out that way.

(Note: I actually wanted to title this post “FreeSarko” but I figured that it would be too esoteric. Just wanted to let you know that so maybe six of you will get a laugh.)

What do you think?