Posted on 07/19/21
| News Source: i24
"I wore the star myself, I know what it is, I still have it in my flesh" said 94-year-old Joseph Swarc
A 94-year-old French Holocaust survivor, present at the Vel d'Hiv roundup exactly 79 years ago, slammed anti-coronavirus vaccine protesters, hostile to the coronavirus vaccination and the health pass, who demonstrated Saturday and who compared themselves to Jewish victims of Nazi opperssion.
Leaflets showing the yellow star with the words "health pass" were visible, while more than 100,000 people marched in France on Saturday against government rules related to the vaccine.
"I would like to express my indignation at what happened this week," said Joseph Szwarc, 94, during the National Day in memory of the victims of racist and antisemitic crimes by the French state.
"You cannot imagine how much this upset me. This comparison is odious! We must all stand up against this ignominy," denounced Szwarc.
"I wore the star myself, I know what it is, I still have it in my flesh. It is everyone's duty not to permit this outrageous, antisemitic, racist wave that lurks around. I believe it is a primary duty, "he warned.
The International League against Racism and Antisemitism (Licra) also reacted strongly to these demonstrations, denouncing their use of Holocaust imagery as a mockery.
"To display a fanciful yellow star is to make fun of the victims of the Shoah. The Licra strongly condemns this 'outrageous minimization' of a crime against humanity.
More than 114,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday to challenge the vaccination, denounce the "dictatorship" or criticize the health pass, President Macron and the anti-Covid measures, which he recently announced being the protest's main target.