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EJC president Moshe Kantor:"We call on European officials to ban hate speeches from the halls of the European Parliament along with those who utter them."
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PARIS (EJP)---The European Jewish Congress (EJC) condemned Jean-Marie Le Pen for his renewed comments that "gas chambers were a detail of second world war history" and called for the French extreme-right leader to be banned from the European Parliament.
Le Pen made these comments on Wednesday during a sitting of the EU assembly in Strasbourg, France.
"These remarks are even more contemptible because as the oldest member of the parliament, Le Pen will preside over the chamber's next inaugural session," the EJC said in a statement.
"Although some groups have called for this to be prevented, the EJC calls for Le Pen to be summarily banned from the parliament."
EJC President Moshe Kantor called for a message to be sent to the rest of Europe that "hatred and Holocaust-denial will not be tolerated."
"We call on European officials to ban hate speeches from the halls of the European Parliament along with those who utter them," Kantor said.
"It is absurd that Le Pen is allowed to utter these words in the symbol of a united Europe. It behooves the authorities to act quickly on this and send a clear message that hatred, racism and intolerance have no place in the year 2009 in the European Union."
The EJC said what happened in Strasbourg makes next week’s symposium at the European Parliament “all the more important.”
Next Monday, the European Jewish umbrella group organizes a symposium on fighting racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism titled "Building Together the Future of Europe" under the patronage of the EU Czech Presidency, the European Parliament and with the participation of the European Commission.
Titled "Building Together the Future of Europe," the one-day symposium in Brussels will be attended by senior politicians, diplomats, religious and communal leaders, as well as victims of racism from around Europe.