Le Pen to ban duel-Israeli citizenship, kippas

Le Pen, a leading contender in the upcoming French presidential election, told France 2 TV that if elected, she will not allow French citizens to hold on to any citizenship in a non-European country, Haaretz reported.

She was asked specifically about Jews and Israel in France, where a large community resides, and the Front National party leader responded: “Israel isn’t a member of the European Union, and doesn’t consider itself as such,” and therefore a dual French-Israeli citizenship will not be allowed.

Her political party, the National Front, was founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who had called the Holocaust a “detail” of history.

French Jewish leaders consider the National Front leader anti-Semitic too, because last week, Le Pen said French Jews should give up the wearing of kippas because they were religious symbols.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2, Le Pen expressed support for banning the wearing of kippas as part of her broader effort to outlaw religious symbols in public.

“Honestly, the dangerous situation in which Jews in France live is such that those who walk with a kippa are in any case a minority because they are afraid,” Le Pen said. “But I mainly think the struggle against radical Islam should be a joint struggle and everyone should say, ‘There, we are sacrificing something.’”

Referring to French Jews, Le Pen added: “Maybe they will do with just wearing a hat, but it would be a step in the effort to stamp out radical Islam in France.”