Ilan Halimi's family boycotts "anti-racist" demo

According to Ha'aretz, the family of French murder victim, Ilan Halimi, are refusing to attend a demonstration organised to protest against the murder "that appears to have been motivated in part by anti-Semitism."

The rally - which is due to be attended by over 100,000 people and numerous public figures, including government ministers - has become controversial due to the planned participation of representatives of two right-wing political movements, the National Front and the Movement for France (known by its French initials MPF).

On Friday, the anti-racism organization MARP announced that it would refuse to attend the rally for this reason, charging that both movements were using Halimi's murder to whip up anti-Muslim sentiment and thereby encouraging racism. The National Front, for instance, described the murder as "the result of 40 years of uncontrolled immigration," while the MPF denounced "the Islamization of France."

It's a credit to the family that they have refused to stand alongside the French National Front and the Movement for France. Unfortunately CRIF (France's Board of Deputies) has no such qualms.

The Human Rights League said on Friday that it would participate in the rally, but demanded that the National Front and the MPF be barred from attending and denounced CRIF, the umbrella organization of the French Jewish community, for remaining silent about the MPF's participation even as it urged that the National Front be barred. The Jewish Students' Association has also condemned the participation of the two political movements.