Jabotinsky, my mentor, addressed—as did all the founding fathers of Zionism—the nagging question of antisemitism, the "longest hatred." His response, original and highly relevant today, lies in distinguishing between an "antisemitism of men" and an "antisemitism of things." The former can sometimes be combated, for some men of good faith are open to reasoning and rational discussion.
But the second—the reality of things—is an immutable and permanent fact that has accompanied the Jewish people throughout their long history... It is as unchangeable as the Law of Sinai, according to the teachings of our Tradition, which links the word sina (hatred) to the word Sinai. Under these circumstances—as Jabotinsky explains in a text previously unpublished in French, which appears in the * Dictionnaire amoureux * I have just dedicated to him—it is just as absurd to claim to be "fighting antisemitism" as it is to try to fight against the rain or the thunder.
If, like me, one takes Jabotinsky’s diagnosis seriously, one cannot help but be appalled by the editorial written by the president of the CRIF for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. " The CRIF works tirelessly to combat antisemitism and defend the values of the Republic ," Jonathan Arfi explains in essence, citing the long-standing Jewish presence in France—dating back to the era of the Mahzor of Vitry in the 11th century—to infer that the future of Jews there is, so to speak, "guaranteed," a self-evident certainty. To claim to be "fighting antisemitism" while encouraging Jews to remain in France amounts, at best, to willful blindness, and at worst, to deception and irresponsibility.
For if the " fight against antisemitism is inseparable from the fight for the Republic "—to use Yonathan Arfi’s words—then the CRIF would do well to take stock of the failure of both these "fights" and acknowledge its patent and total defeat. One can certainly (and indeed must) combat antisemites by all means necessary, including physical confrontation if the situation demands it. This is what Jabotinsky understood at the time of the Kishinev pogrom, when he organized Jewish self-defense in Russia alongside the historian Dubnov and others.
Yet the "fight against antisemitism," elevated to a slogan by the CRIF and other institutions, is nothing more than an empty phrase—a smokescreen that does a poor job of concealing their powerlessness and pusillanimity. For the stated goal of these institutions is to do everything possible to perpetuate the Jewish presence in France, rather than to safeguard the true interests of French Jews and the Jewish people. Jabotinsky grasped a profound truth in his time—one that remains just as relevant today as it was then: antisemitism is the lot of the Jewish people in exile.
If the CRIF and other Jewish institutions in France were truly concerned about the future of their community members, they would urge them to learn Hebrew and actively prepare for their * Aliyah* and integration into Israel. Instead, they prefer to mouth empty phrases like the “civic fight against antisemitism” and the “values of the Republic”... Their real slogan should be “business as usual,” for the Jewish presence in France has become a veritable source of livelihood for these institutions! Then as now, the Jewish establishment has failed to grasp the reality. On the eve of Yom Kippur, let us hope their eyes are opened and that they acknowledge their tragic error. In the meantime, the answer to give them is: “Read Jabotinsky!”
P. Lurçat
I am pleased to announce to my readers a special evening event organized for October 26, 2026 , to mark the release of the book Le Monde de Jabotinsky at the Begin Center in Jerusalem . Reservations required:
https://begincenter.smarticket.co.il/__Le_monde_de_JABOTINSKY__?id=56797