Israel on Monday condemned the remarks of the candidate of the National Front to the French presidency, Marine Le Pen, who claimed that France was not responsible for the roundup of the Vel d'Hiv mass arrest of Jews in 1942.
"We condemn the statements made by Marine Le Pen that France is not responsible for the deportation of Jews from its territory during the Shoah", said a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Michal Maayan. "This declaration is contrary to the historical truth as expressed by the statements of the presidents of France, who recognised the responsibility of the State for the fate of the French Jews who perished in the Shoah," she added in a statement.
More than 13,000 Jews were arrested and then deported during the raid of the Vel d'Hiv in Paris in 1942.
"I think that France is not responsible for the Vel d'Hiv", Le Pen told "Grand Jury" RTl-LCI-Le Figaro on Sunday with regard to the raid and the decision of President Jacques Chirac to recognise the responsibility of France in July 1995.
The Brussels Times
Israel condemns Le Pen's remarks on the Vel d'Hiv raid
