Football character assassination?
Benzema is apparently preparing a lawsuit against France’s interior minister
As of: 5:09 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
“Anyone who questions that really has no business with us.”
As a result of the war in the Middle East, there are more and more anti-Israel gatherings in Germany. Thorsten Frei, Parliamentary Managing Director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, wants to take tougher action against enemies of Israel. At WELT he says: “Anyone who does something like that puts themselves outside of society.”
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Karim Benzema caused a stir in France with a pro-Palestinian reaction. It’s not just about the content of the post, but about allegations made by the Interior Minister. This had brought the former French international closer to radical Islamists.
After his pro-Palestinian contribution to the Middle East conflict, the dispute between former world footballer Karim Benzema and France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin is coming to a head. According to a report in the newspaper “Le Parisien”, the star striker, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, is preparing a lawsuit against Darmanin. He had assumed that Benzema was close to the Muslim Brotherhood without providing any concrete evidence.
The background is Benzema’s post on social media on Sunday. “We pray for the people of Gaza, who have once again become victims of these unjust bombings that do not spare either women or children,” Benzema wrote, for which critics accused him of a one-sided view.
Benzema’s lawyer, Hugues Vigier, replied: “Praying on October 15 for the civilian population hit by bombs that do not spare women or children is of course not propaganda for Hamas, not complicity in terrorism and not an act of collaboration.”
Karim Benzema was awarded the Ballon d’Or for “World Footballer of the Year” in 2022. He moved from Real Madrid to Saudi club Ittihad FC in the summer
Source: dpa/STR
When asked by “Parisien”, the Interior Ministry explained that “for several years we have noticed a slow slide in Karim Benzema’s statements towards a hard, rigorous Islam, which is typical of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology, which consists in rejecting Islamic norms various areas of society, especially in sport”.
Le Pen also attacks Benzma
On Friday, right-wing nationalist politician Marine Le Pen also made allegations against the 35-year-old goalscorer. “What is certain is that Mr. Benzema obviously has a fondness for the most radical Islamism, which some might call Islamist fundamentalism,” Le Pen told broadcaster RMC. Other conservative and right-wing radical politicians also attacked Benzema after his post.
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In addition to a lack of compassion for the Israeli victims in the conflict, Benzema is also accused of not having spoken out about the teacher who was stabbed to death by an Islamist in northern France on Friday last week. The Interior Minister said on BFMTV on Thursday evening that he would withdraw his statements about Benzema if he also mourned the death of the stabbed teacher.
“The most important thing is that we see the hostages healthy. Best today for Shabbat dinner”
Hamas has around 200 hostages in its control. A majority are alive, the Israeli army said. But that is not the final number, says IDF spokesman Arye Shalicar: “We are also missing over a hundred people.” They are preparing for “pinprick-like” missions in Gaza.
