Anti-Semitism in France reared its ugly head over the weekend after the runner-up in the Miss France 2021 beauty pageant revealed that her father was Israeli.
After April Benayoum, 21, revealed her Israeli ancestry, she was subjected to incessant attacks on social media, including anti-Semitic tweets. They were harshly condemned by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who said they had “deeply shocked” him.
“We must not let anything go. Shame on their authors. The police and gendarmerie services have been mobilized,” he tweeted.
The Jewish advocacy group StopAntiSemitism.org also came to Benayoum’s defense on Twitter: “A gorgeous #MissFrance2021 contestant, April Benayoum, is receiving horrific anti-Semitic responses after stating she has an Israeli father. Just a few of the tweets: ‘Don’t vote for a Jew.’ ‘Hitler forgot this one.’ ”
The Union of Jewish Students in France tweeted: “Miss France 2021, no longer a beauty contest, it is an anti-Semitism contest because of the surname of Miss Provence who called herself Italian-Israeli.”
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
