Outrage after French imam danced at ‘Israeli music festival’ in Paris

A French imam has sparked outrage after dancing at an event organised in support of Israel and Israeli captives in Paris. 

On 22 June, during “We Will Dance Again”, an Israeli music festival, Hassen Chalghoumi was spotted on a stage, dancing and surrounded by Israeli flags. 

The event was organised by TheTruth, an association founded to challenge “disinformation, denigration of Israel, anti-Semitism, political Islam”, according to its social media accounts.

Chalghoumi’s participation in the festival amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza and its attack on Iran caused heated reactions online, with users accusing the imam of “celebrating genocide”.

"The best location in Paris, Trocadero, opposite the Eiffel Tower," posted one user.

"Pro-genocide activists demonstrated to express their support for Israel, the criminal child-killing state. Note the participation of Imam Chalghoumi, a fervent defender of the genocide of the Palestinians."

Translation: Chalghoumi, who happily celebrates the genocide in Gaza and the strikes on Iran. How beautiful our Imam is.

Some social media users highlighted that he appeared on stage alongside MP Caroline Yadan, known for her staunch support of Israel.

MEE contacted Chalghoumi for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

The festival controversy follows his recent statements backing Israel as it attacked Iran.

Support for Israel

When Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on 13 June, Chalghoumi said on X that Israel was "defending itself against this terrorist octopus that oppresses its own people". 

“The Israeli people are waging this fight in the name of all free peoples,” he continued.

Chalghoumi, the imam of Drancy’s municipal mosque near Paris, often speaks about and calls for dialogue between Muslims and Jews.

'It’s high time the Muslims of France got rid of you for all the harm you’ve done to them'

- Rima Hassan MEP

But many in France's Muslim community say his advocacy strays from interreligious dialogue, and promotes Israel and Israeli talking points instead, pointing to his trips to Israel, including one where he met the Israeli army spokesperson.

He also went on a trip to the occupied West Bank at the invitation of Israeli settler leaders, and has denounced boycotts of Israel, which many pro-Palestinian voices advocate as a nonviolent form of protest.

On his social media account, he frequently posts against "Islamism" and warns about the alleged "infiltration and destablising" goals of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe. 

In a May interview, he said: "We must hunt down Islamists, in cellars, on social media and in their mosques."

Chalghoumi has framed his views as a stand against “apology for terrorism”, while critics see it as part of a pattern of silencing Palestinian and Muslim voices. 

His attendance at the Paris music festival is not his first controversy related to Israel's war on Gaza.

In March, he publicly called for a French-Palestinian member of the European parliament, Rima Hassan, to be stripped of her French nationality, accusing her of supporting terrorism over her remarks on Hamas.

Hassan responded, calling him “illegitimate to represent Muslims in France” and added: “It’s high time the Muslims of France got rid of you for all the harm you’ve done to them.”