French Jewish Lawmaker Stirs Controversy With Hebrew Prayers — And Focus On Israel
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Meyer Habib, who represents in the French Parliament nationals living abroad in eight countries including Israel, stirred a controversy this week after he gave a victory speech in which he thanked God and prayed in Hebrew.
“I can’t stop myself from thanking you and also thanking the All Powerful, because while we are in a secular republic, I am a believer,” Habib, who lives in Israel and is a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a video.
Habib’s campaign – including the victory speech – departed from norms in France, where officials usually refrain from public affirmations of faith.
“He doesn’t respect voters in the whole of the constituency, promising to do nothing for them, and only focusing on Israel,” said Drory, a member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche party.
Habib, who ran on the ballot of the center-right Union of Democrats and Independents, blasted Drory as a “pro-Palestinian candidate” and a backer of “anti-religious state secularism.” The election occurred on Sunday, when French voters cast ballots in the second round of the country’s legislative elections.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
