EU Parliament Member Accused of Tossing Israeli Flag at October 7 Victims Exhibit

French European Parliament member Rima Hassan, of the far-left LFI party, acknowledged today (Tuesday) that she vandalized an October 7 memorial exhibit set up in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. She removed an Israeli flag that was on display and threw it to the floor, trampling it.

Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, responded sharply to the incident involving Hassan: “We cannot allow actions that may cause people to fear expressing their views. We cannot allow damage to property. And we cannot allow attempts to intimidate or terrorize instead of holding a debate. At a time when antisemitism is rising around the world, we owe Europe’s Jewish community the duty of ensuring that when they look at us, they see that this is their home too. Tomorrow, we will mark another anniversary of that dark October 7, three years ago, and on your behalf I will speak at the event and remember the victims with the respect they deserve.”

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, addressed the incident and called for severe disciplinary measures against Hassan to be considered. He said that if allegations that Hassan knocked down the Israeli and European Union flags during the event are proven true, they “justify the imposition of strict and deterrent sanctions by the European Parliament.”

The minister added: “I hope the memorial events can take place under the best possible conditions, while remembering that 51 of our fellow citizens lost their lives in that tragedy.” Hassan is expected to be asked to provide an explanation to the Parliament president, who will decide whether to take disciplinary action against her. A Parliament spokesperson said the incident was documented and is being reviewed by the relevant authorities.

Hassan’s office confirmed that she did remove the flag, but rejected claims that she trampled it or caused damage to the flags. “Rima Hassan removed the Israeli flag from its stand. The European Union flag, which was attached to the same fixture, then accidentally fell as a result of a loss of balance. No flag was trampled or damaged,” her office said.

Her office said the act was a protest against Israeli government policy and that it “was not directed in any way at the people the event was intended to honor, nor at their memory.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also condemned the act. “Shameful, outrageous, but unfortunately not surprising,” he wrote. “The vandalism of the exhibit commemorating October 7 victims in the European Parliament by parliament member Rima Hassan of the radical left says, above all, how little respect she has for the very institution in which she serves.”