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Fight Against Antisemitism Must Be Based on ‘Universalist’ Values, Macron Tells French Religious Leaders
Militants from the Jewish Defense League (LDJ) and the Koah (“Strength”) organization gather in Paris for the Nov. 11 march against antisemitism. Photo: Reuters/Eric Broncard
French President Emmanuel Macron met with leading representatives of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths on Monday, issuing an appeal to combat rising antisemitism on the basis of France’s “universalist values.”
Speaking following the parley, the president of the Catholic Conference of Bishops of France (CEF), Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, said that Macron had encouraged sustained outreach to younger people.
Christian Krieger — the president of the Protestant Federation of France who was also in attendance — explained that Macron urged that French youth needed to embrace France’s universalist, republican culture if they were to “avoid victim competition and ultimately build the values of the Republic.”
France’s chief rabbi, Haim Korsia, echoed Krieger’s interpretation, saying that “no one can lock themselves into their sole and simple suffering. At that moment, we segment a society.”
Muslim leaders who did not attend Sunday’s national rallies against antisemitism — which drew 182,000 participants in Paris and more than 20,000 in provincial cities — were also present at Monday’s meeting with Macron, arguing that racism and prejudice against Muslims needed to be in the frame alongside antisemitism.
“I have no lessons to learn from the fight against antisemitism. The Mosque of Paris has always been extremely active in the fight against antisemitism,” Chems-Eddine Hafiz, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, said.
Hafiz added that while he had no wish “to compete with the victims” because there has been “a real rise in antisemitism,” he stressed as well that “there has been an outburst of statements made against Muslims.”
In an article for the news outlet Le Parisien published on Sunday, Macron spoke of “the unbearable resurgence of unbridled antisemitism” that followed the Hamas pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
“In one month, more than a thousand antisemitic acts were committed on our soil: Three times more acts of hatred against our Jewish compatriots in a few weeks than during the entirety of last year,” Macron wrote.
“Our Jewish compatriots therefore experience legitimate anguish. Fear of taking their children to school. Fear of going home alone. Fear to the point of erasing their names to protect themselves. As if the grief was not enough, they are gripped by anguish and loneliness. As if the past feelings transmitted by their parents, their grandparents were suddenly resurfacing,” asserted Macron, who faced criticism for not attending Sunday’s march.
Macron emphasized that Israel had a right to defend itself. “There is no ‘yes but’: putting Hamas out of harm’s way is a necessity,” he stated. However, he added, “this defense must be accompanied by the resumption of political dialogue and ensure the protection of civilians and hostages in Gaza who cannot pay the price of their lives for the bloodthirsty madness of the terrorists.”
Senior French politicians who attended the march in Paris included Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the speaker of the French parliament, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and her equivalent in the country’s senate, Gérard Larcher. The march was overshadowed by a political dispute over the participation of the far right Rassemblement National (RN — “National Rally”), which was accused by critics of exploiting Jewish fears of antisemitism to push its anti-Muslim agenda.
The post Fight Against Antisemitism Must Be Based on ‘Universalist’ Values, Macron Tells French Religious Leaders first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.