April Benium. Interior Minister Gina: “It will not pass in silence. Let them be ashamed”
When Miss Provence, April Benny, competed in the Miss France pageant, she did not anticipate that her family story would lead to an unprecedented anti-Semitic attack.
Benyum, the daughter of a 21-year-old Jewish father, proudly recounted her Israeli roots during a speech in a competition, revealing that her father is of Italian-Israeli descent. She added that she would like to change the prejudices about Israelis.
From that moment the network erupted and was filled with hundreds and thousands of tweets and posts against Benium. Among other things, the surfers wrote: “David Hitler, you forgot to destroy Miss Provence”, “Tell her that Israel does not exist, this is Palestine”, and “Miss Provence already lost as soon as she said that her father was Israeli”.
Despite the waves of hatred against the young Jewish woman, Benium won the prestigious title of Deputy Miss France. The winner of the competition, Amandin Petit, strongly condemned the antisemitic attack on her deputy and expressed her support for her. French Interior Minister Gerard Derman has said: “I am deeply shocked by the wave of antisemitic insults against Miss Provence. It will not pass in silence. Shame on you. ‘
President Rivlin tweeted last night: “Bravo April Vice Miss France. The antisemitic attacks against you are sickening and must not be silenced.”
Benium itself also responded to the attack against her: “Of course I did not see anything during the live broadcast. I learned about the same things through relatives. It is sad to see such behaviors in 2020. I of course condemn things but it does not touch me completely.”