A dispute at the European Parliament
Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said an incident at a commemorative event in the European Parliament reflected a growing problem of antisemitism in France. The event took place in Strasbourg as the world marked the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks by Hamas. Zarka made the remarks to Europe Editor Maria Tadeo.
An Israeli flag stood at the center of the incident. French MEP Rima Hassan was accused of kicking the flag to the ground. Hassan denied throwing it down and said she'd removed it from its stand. The account gives the accusation and her denial, but no finding resolves the disagreement over what happened to the flag.
The episode unfolded at a commemorative gathering in the European Parliament, not at a French border or during a migration-policy debate. Zarka's reported claim concerns antisemitism in France and the conduct attributed to Hassan at the Strasbourg event. The article gives no figures on antisemitic incidents, and it offers no further detail about the wider problem he described.
Hassan’s explanation
Hassan addressed the flag incident in a post on X. She denied throwing the flag down and said she'd removed it from its stand. In that post, she linked her gesture to opposition to Israel's actions and to what she described as unequal treatment inside the institution.
"My gesture is part of the denunciation of the ongoing genocide, of violations of international law, and of this incessant and unbearable double standard: a Russian flag would never be admitted within the institution's premises. The State of Israel, which is a partner in this event through its embassy, continues to enjoy total impunity," she wrote.
Her statement refers to the Israeli flag, the event's institutional premises and Israel's role as a partner through its embassy. It also compares that flag with a Russian one, which Hassan said wouldn't be admitted within the premises. The report presents the comparison as her claim; it doesn't offer a separate account of the institution's rules on flags.
The wider context
The commemorative event coincided with the third anniversary of the Hamas attacks of October 7. The report also describes continued war in Gaza, which it says is producing a human catastrophe, with tens of thousands dead and no clear path to peace.
Those facts set the reported backdrop to the Strasbourg gathering. Zarka called the flag incident evidence of a growing antisemitism problem in France. Hassan, in turn, said her gesture denounced what she called genocide, violations of international law and a double standard. The report records both positions, but provides no additional evidence about the incident or the broader allegations.
The available account lays out the dispute clearly. Hassan denied kicking or throwing down the flag and said she'd removed it from its stand; Zarka said the incident reflected a growing problem of antisemitism in France. The event took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, amid the third-anniversary commemorations and the continuing war in Gaza.