French Rabbi Faces Death Threats After Criticizing Israel’s Gaza Policies

Horvilleur, a leader of the Liberal Jewish Movement in Paris and editor of the Jewish magazine Tenou’a, wrote last week that “starving innocents or condemning children neither relieves pain nor avenges the dead.” Her comments targeted Israeli ministers who publicly defended blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In her editorial, she wrote, “Without a future for the Palestinian people, there is no future for the Israeli people either.” Zionists swiftly responded with online abuse, including calls for her execution. Many threats were gender-based, claiming women shouldn’t speak or hold religious authority.

According to Haaretz, Horvilleur had been a prominent defender of Israel in French media, especially after the October 7 military operation. She said, “I’m too Zionist for some, not Zionist enough for others. I’m caught in the crossfire.”

She confirmed that French police are now monitoring her social media accounts due to the volume and severity of threats.

In a show of solidarity, 42 French intellectuals — both Jewish and non-Jewish — signed an op-ed in La Tribune du Dimanche. They denounced the Israeli government for eroding ‘democracy’, threatening detainees, expanding settlements, and preparing for the annexation of occupied territories.

However, Meir Ben Haim, French spokesperson for Israel’s Otzma Yehudit party, accused Horvilleur and her allies of “violating Jewish tradition.” He warned, “The price will be blood.”