A French Hamlet Named 'Death to Jews'

Arabs are often accused of being massively anti-Semitic, when in reality many of them are simply anti-Zionist. However, no matter how you slice it, nothing comes close to reaching the level of offensiveness of a village hamlet in France, named La-Mort-aux-Juif, which translated to "death to the Jews."

60 miles away from the south of Paris is a hamlet that dates back to the Middle Ages. The name of the hamlet literally translates to 'Death to Jews'. The unbelievable slip-up has left many activists astonished and angry, prompting demands that the hamlet's name be changed.

However according Marie-Elizabeth Secretand, the deputy mayor of nearby village of Courtemaux under whose jurisdiction the hamlets falls, “Why change a name that goes back to the Middle Ages or even further? No one has anything against the Jews, of course, but it doesn’t surprise me that this is coming up again. A previous municipal council, at least 20 years ago, already refused to change the name of this hamlet, which consists of a farm and two houses."

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has officially requested for the hamlet's name to be changing in a letter to France's interior minister. The director of the Jewish group, Shimon Samuels, wrote, "It is extremely shocking that this name has slipped under the radar in the 70 years that have passed since France was liberated from Nazism and the (pro-Nazi) Vichy regime."

However, there appears to be no indication of intention to comply and change the name of the hamlet.