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French media reported on Monday that a French court had issued arrest summons for two French-Israeli activists on allegations of “complicity in genocide” and “incitement to genocide,” a move that drew accusations of blatant double standards in France’s enforcement of hate and incitement laws.
The decision applied genocide statutes — among the most serious charges in international law — to political protest activities. Jewish organizations and legal experts said the move stretches the law beyond recognition and risked trivializing the very crime it purports to address.
One of the activists is Nili Kupfer-Naouri, a French-Israeli attorney who founded Israel Is Forever, a pro-Israel advocacy organization focused on strengthening Zionist engagement among French-speaking Jews.
The second activist is Rachel Tuito, a spokesperson for Tzav 9, a protest movement that opposes the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza over concerns that supplies are diverted by Hamas.
Prosecutors Target Protest Activity
French prosecutors alleged the women played leadership roles in demonstrations linked to Israel’s southern border crossings with Gaza. Authorities further claimed that statements made during those protests crossed into criminal incitement under French law.
Those defending the activists strongly rejected that characterization. They argued that political protest — however controversial — did not constitute genocide, nor did it meet any accepted legal definition of complicity in such crimes.
Kupfer-Naouri has publicly stated she will not return to France to comply with the summons. She has described the prosecution as politically driven and rooted in hostility toward Jewish and pro-Israel activism.
She has also pointed to what she called selective enforcement. According to Kupfer-Naouri, French courts have acted with unusual speed on complaints brought by pro-Palestinian groups, while complaints involving explicit antisemitic rhetoric from public figures have gone nowhere.
Tuito has raised similar concerns, citing stalled cases involving overt antisemitic incitement as evidence of unequal treatment under the law.
The demonstrations took place in 2024 and early 2025 at the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings. Protesters sought to halt aid shipments entering Gaza, citing concerns that Hamas steals humanitarian supplies rather than distributing them to civilians.
French authorities dispute that framing. Prosecutors argue that organizers encouraged participation and used language they claimed violated incitement laws.
Critics Point to Selective Enforcement
The case has drawn intense scrutiny because of what critics described as a glaring contrast. Since 2023, France and other European countries have seen near-constant demonstrations against Israel. Many of those protests have featured slogans such as “Globalize the Intifada” and “From the river to the sea,” which Jewish organizations and multiple governments have condemned as calls for violence against the Jewish people and the elimination of the State of Israel.
Despite their prevalence, such slogans have rarely triggered serious criminal consequences. By contrast, French prosecutors have now invoked genocide statutes against Jewish activists engaged in protest — an escalation critics said defied both legal logic and precedent.
Legal experts and Jewish advocacy groups warn that expanding genocide laws to cover protest activity risks hollowing out the meaning of genocide itself. Traditionally, such charges apply to direct participation in mass atrocities or explicit calls for extermination — not political demonstrations, even disruptive ones. If upheld, critics say the precedent could chill Jewish political expression while leaving openly extremist rhetoric untouched.
France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population. As a result, judicial actions perceived as singling out Jewish activists carry significant domestic and international implications. Advocacy groups said the outcome of this case would signal whether France applied its laws evenly — or whether Jews and supporters of Israel were being held to a different legal standard. French authorities have not said how they would proceed if Kupfer-Naouri remained outside the country. For many observers, one point is already clear: charging protesters with genocide is not law enforcement. It is a distortion of justice with consequences far beyond this case.
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