Nora
An undercover reporter joined France’s anti-Israel movement. Here’s what she found
In her explosive book ‘Les Nouveaux Antisemites,’ journalist Nora Bussigny reveals pervasive hatred of Jews and Israel on the radical left
If antisemitism has long plagued France, dating back to the Middle Ages, it’s now metastasizing in new, alarming ways, according to a recently published book by French journalist Nora Bussigny.
Titled “Les Nouveaux Antisémites” (“The New Antisemites”), it exposes virulent Jew-hatred endemic to many far-left organizations in France, infiltrated by Bussigny as part of a lengthy undercover investigation. Using a false identity, Bussigny uncovered pervasive antisemitism and anti-Zionism, now a common denominator among diverse groups that often disagree on other matters.
“I saw with my own eyes to what degree Islamists, far-left so-called ‘progressive’ militants and feminist, LGBT and ecological activists are closely linked in their shared hatred of Jews and Israel,” Bussigny told The Times of Israel during a recent interview on Zoom.
“It’s ironic because historically, the extreme left was fragmented. Many radical groups never got along despite dreaming of a convergence of their struggles. Before October 7, [2023,] I was convinced they could only unify around a common hatred of the police and what it symbolizes for them. But I’ve now seen how their hate for Jews, or rather Zionists, to use their term, is more effective in bringing them together in common cause.”
The Hamas-led invasion on October 7, 2023, saw some 1,200 people in southern Israel slaughtered by thousands of marauding terrorists, and 251 abducted as hostages to the Gaza Strip. The massacre touched off the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza and an unprecedented spike in global antisemitism.
“Les Nouveaux Antisémites” — whose subtitle translates in English as “An Investigation by an Infiltrator within the Ranks of the Far Left” — opens with a dedication to Régine Skorka-Jacubert, a Holocaust survivor and member of the French Resistance.
“While writing the book, I was invited to the Mémorial de la Shoah in Paris,” said Bussigny, 30, speaking in French. “As part of its education program, they have a terminal which scans your face and attributes to you someone deported to a Nazi concentration camp. You’re then asked to commit yourself to help preserve the person’s memory and keep their story alive. I told myself I’d dedicate my book to Régine.”
In the book’s introduction, Busssigny explains her incognito endeavor, for which she risked her personal safety.
“During an entire year, I participated, with full discretion, in demonstrations, meetings, online discussions,” she writes. “I investigated university campuses. I applauded next to hysterical crowds glorifying terrorism. I took part in feminist protests and dialogued in municipal facilities with members of an organization [Samidoun] outlawed in many countries for its close, proven links to terrorism. I chanted against ‘genocide’ and for ‘Palestinian resistance’ — obviously armed ‘resistance’ — during demonstrations supposedly defending the rights of women and LGBT people, with no mention of homosexuals being tortured or murdered in the name of Sharia law in the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas.”
At the outset, Bussigny faced a learning curve.
“At first, I went too quickly,” said Bussigny, whose mother is from Morocco, her father from France. “Participating in demonstrations, I made mistakes. For example, I’d say ‘Israel,’ which militants never say except for insults. They usually say ‘the Zionist entity,’ or if writing, they call it ‘Israhell.’ They also never say the IDF, but rather ‘the genocidal army.’ There were terms I had to learn to have the ‘right’ vocabulary.”
Bussigny also needed her best performance skills.
“Initially, some of the people looked at me with mistrust,” she added. “I had to really concentrate on how I spoke and acted when I was among them. They watch you to see if you’re chanting, if you’re happy to be there, if you’re filming. They’re suspicious. I made sure to look cheerful and excited to chant with everyone the glory of Hamas and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood [the terror group’s name for the October 7 atrocities]. I was so careful to play the part that it became almost schizophrenic for me.”
In the book, Bussigny shows how radical anti-Israel groups, including Urgence Palestine, Palestine Vaincra and Samidoun (designated a terrorist organization by several countries), receive political support in France, sometimes public funding and access to municipal facilities where they hold meetings and workshops seeking to radicalize young people.
Making “Les Nouveaux Antisémites” more noteworthy is that its author is not only not Jewish, but half Arab-Muslim, adding to the enmity she faces.
“Since the book came out [in late September], I’ve been the target of death threats, horrible insults and an enormous amount of hate, especially on social media,” said Bussigny, who requires special police protection when appearing at public events. “Part of this hostility is because I’m Franco-Moroccan, and some people treat me as a traitor to the Palestinian cause and an accomplice of Zionists. Those attacking me denounce me as complicit in ‘genocide,’ and some also make baseless accusations that I’m receiving money from Israel.”
The malice doesn’t stop there.
“Many bookstores in France have boycotted my book,” she added. “Some have even told customers who tried to order it that they don’t want to order this type of book.”
Despite this animus, much to the consolation of Bussigny, “Les Nouveaux Antisémites” has been widely acclaimed in the media, is on bestseller lists in France and received the 2025 Prix Edgar Faure award for best political book of the year.
“For all the negativity, there’s been lots of positive feedback,” said Bussigny, who writes regularly for French publications Le Point, Marianne and Franc-Tireur. “Given how well the book is selling, obviously, many non-Jews are reading it, which is important. I’ve received lots of support.”
Not surprisingly, some of that support has come from France’s Jewish community, the second largest outside Israel.
“I’m quite touched by the response from French Jews,” said Bussigny, who recently spoke at a Paris event hosted by CRIF, the representative body of Jewish institutions in France, which also featured Israel’s Ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka. “I’ve received so much gratitude. Many say my book has helped them see what’s behind much of the current antisemitism. They’re worried and grateful to better understand everything that’s at stake for them.”
“They’re happy I’m not Jewish,” said Bussigny, noting that part of the reaction surprised her.
“At first, I didn’t understand this. I was a bit embarrassed to be invited to speak about antisemitism because I’m not Jewish and I don’t experience antisemitism,” she said. “I’d ask them, isn’t it better to give the floor to someone who’s directly affected by it? And they’d say to me, ‘No, on the contrary.’”
Mixing with militants
For the book, Bussigny interviewed more than 100 people, Jewish and non-Jewish, from hardcore militants to university students and professors to elected officials. She also visited the Free University of Brussels and Columbia University in New York.
This is her fourth book and follows “Les Nouveaux Inquisiteurs,” published two years ago, just before October 7, for which she also went undercover, to investigate the woke movement.
“Before working on ‘Les Nouveaux Antisémites,’ I didn’t know many Jews,” said Bussigny, who’s hoping to visit Israel for the first time in the coming months for an event centered on her book. “I think if it wasn’t for my parents, I could’ve become antisemitic. I grew up in a Paris suburb where I didn’t meet any Jews and didn’t even realize what antisemitism was. When I was a teenager, I wanted to go to a performance of [antisemitic French comedian] Dieudonné. But my parents said, ‘No, that’s going too far.’ They alerted me and explained to me what antisemitism is.”
Citing many individuals by name in the book for their extreme antisemitism and anti-Zionism and their affiliation with nefarious groups, Bussigny devotes an entire chapter to one person in particular, Rima Hassan, a Palestinian, Syrian-born senior member of the left-wing antisemitic La France Insoumise party.
“Rima Hassan has the potential of becoming France’s [Zohran] Mamdani,” said Bussigny, referring to New York City’s anti-Israel mayor. “She’s succeeded in radicalizing much of [left-wing political party] La France Insoumise. As she’s the most-followed political figure in France on social media, along with Jordan Bardella [of the far-right Rassemblement National], she has tremendous influence. Hassan is obsessed with Jews and is the most dangerous politician connected to antisemitism and Islamism. Today in La France Insoumise, she’s more prominently featured by [party leader] Jean-Luc Mélanchon, who understands her ultra-radical discourse appeals to the young generation.”
This could have electoral consequences.
“I worry about what’s happening with Gen Z, those born after 1995, many of whom will be voting for the first time next year in the municipal elections, and then in 2027 in the presidential elections,” Bussigny said. “We could have several Mamdanis in France. He’s called the TikTok mayor for a reason. He was elected in large part thanks to Gen Z voters, and he used his anti-Zionism as a motor for his campaign. What does this mean for our upcoming elections?”
In media interviews and at conferences, Bussigny is outspoken in condemning antisemitism and its danger to French society. She’s met with government ministers and parliamentarians about her investigation and its sobering implications. In late October, she testified at length before the National Assembly’s commission of inquiry into Islamist movements in France supporting terrorism and promoting Islamist ideology, and their strategy of building relationships with national and local politicians.
Forgoing the option to speak behind closed doors, she told the commission of troubling developments and individuals whose names and actions she identified as threatening the future of France due to their anti-democratic agenda. She stressed that in her work, she distinguishes between support expressed for Palestinian civilians versus for armed groups and the glorification of terrorism.
“While undercover, I identified classic antisemitic stereotypes, reformulated by simply substituting the term ‘Zionist’ for ‘Jew,’” she told the hearing. “This rhetoric was flagrantly apparent during training by the Urgence Palestine organization in which I participated. The speakers spoke of a supposed ‘Zionist conspiracy’ in France in which ‘Zionists’ control the media and have infiltrated the government. These accusations are nothing but a faithful reworking of traditional antisemitic tropes, already observed historically on the extreme right.”
Push to fight antisemitism before all is lost
Bussigny recently joined a group of prominent French Jews and non-Jews in signing a public letter denouncing rampant antisemitism and calling on the French government to make the fight against Jew-hate and racism a major national cause in 2026 and to create a special judiciary office for the prosecution of antisemitism.
Anti-Israel protestors
Bussigny’s book isn’t just a report of her investigation, as reflected ominously in the introduction’s final sentence — “My concern continues to grow regarding the future marked by the persecution of Jews.” Equally sobering, she titles the book’s last chapter: “This Isn’t a Conclusion But a Cry of Despair in the Face of What’s Happening,” which ends with: “I complete this book by simply saying to you that now that you’ve read what I’ve written, you can no longer say you didn’t know.”
When asked if her perspective has changed since completing the book last spring, Bussigny didn’t hesitate.
“No,” she replied. “Even if I have a bit of hope, it’s so little next to the despair I have. My heart is heavy. I’m very, very afraid for France. I think in the long run, this might be a lost cause, but I’m among those who are going to fight until the end.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/an-undercover-reporter-joined-frances-anti-israel-movement-heres-what-she-found/
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