Chief rabbi of France calls for Israel to 'finish the job' in Gaza

Chief rabbi of France Haim Korsia justified Israeli actions in Gaza during a French television interview and urged Israel to "finish the job".

Broadcast on BFM TV, Korsia expressed his support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a potential arrest warrant at the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Gaza.

Korsia described the violence in Gaza as "acts of war" and defended Israel's actions, saying that they were necessary to "protect its nationals". He said that Israel's military response was justified in the context of defending its citizens against Hamas, which he said is responsible for the ongoing conflict.

When the journalist giving the interview pressed Korsia about the civilian casualties in Gaza, he responded: "It's an act of war that no country in the world would conduct like Israel is doing, and I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in how Israel is conducting the fighting."

When asked if he was uncomfortable with Netanyahu's policy in Gaza, the rabbi replied: "I'm never uncomfortable with a policy that consists of defending one's citizens."

The tense exchange continued when the rabbi was asked if he condemned the massacres in Gaza as he did the Israeli deaths on 7 October, to which he responded: "They are not of the same order."

Since 7 October when the war broke out, Israel has killed over 40,000 people, with more than 93,000 wounded and an estimated 10,000 missing, likely dead and buried under rubble. Health officials report that over 50 percent of the victims are children and women.

The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October led to the deaths of 1,170 people and over 200 taken back to Gaza as captives.

Aymeric Caron, a deputy in the French parliament, condemned Korsia's comments, calling them a justification for "genocide in Gaza".

"The masks have fallen so much in recent months. Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia calmly declares that he supports the ongoing genocide in Gaza, that it is deserved, and makes clear his hatred of the Palestinians, whose flag he says is offensive to show," wrote Caron, calling the rabbi's remarks an "apology for war crimes and crimes against humanity".

"Apology for war crimes and crimes against humanity. These are crimes punishable by law," said Caron, questioning whether the rabbi will be summoned by the courts, as some defending Palestinian rights have been. 

Arnaud Bertrand, another French analyst, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "And here I thought religious men were supposed to defend moral values and the sanctity of life."

Pro-Palestinian activism criminalised

Earlier this year French police summoned the leading left-wing MP Mathilde Panot for an investigation into an alleged “apology for terrorism”, in connection with her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza. 

“We will not be silent. No summons, no intimidation of any kind will prevent us from protesting against the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,” Panot said in a press release. 

Panot is the leader of the largest left-wing parliamentary group in the French parliament, France Unbowed (La France Insoumise/LFI), which has been outspoken in condemning the war on Gaza since 7 October.

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Panot denounced the investigation as unprecedented.

“It is the first time in the history of the French Republic that the head of an opposition group in parliament is summoned for such a serious reason on the basis of fallacious accusations,” she said.

“The Macronist regime has crossed all imaginable lines,” she added, referring to the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

French authorities in April cancelled two conferences by LFI politician Jean-Luc Melenchon in Lille, while Rima Hassan, a party member, was summoned to police on charges of “apology for terrorism”.

The left-wing For Reunion (Pour La Reunion/PLR) party criticised the measures against Panot as “a worrying authoritarian drift”.

“The PLR is deeply concerned about the justice system being instrumentalised to silence political opponents who denounce the ongoing genocide on Palestinian territory,” the party said in a statement on Wednesday.