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Sarkozy on Wednesday suggested to French Jewish groups that 10-yr-olds should 'adopt' child Shoah victim, idea slammed as being heavy burden. (AP) Last update - 19:10 14/02/2008 French President sparks row over religion, Holocaust studies By Reuters Tags: religion, nicolas sarkozy  President Nicolas Sarkozy has triggered a row over religion by saying faith has a place in the public sphere and schoolchildren should study the 11,000 French Jewish child victims of the Holocaust. Sarkozy has angered secularists with repeated praise for faith and references to France's Christian roots, and he told a French Jewish organisation that the violence and wars of the 20th century were due to an "absence of God". Ten-year-old pupils "should know the name and life story of a child who died in the Holocaust", he told the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) on Wednesday. Advertisement He attracted criticism on Thursday from two camps, secularists keen to keep religion out of public discourse and those worried that pupils could be traumatised by studying the Holocaust through child victims with whom they could identify. "The president should not turn into a kind of preacher, as he is doing now," said left-wing Senator Jean-Luc Melenchon. Centrist deputy Francois Bayrou predicted "a clash between France's values and those of Nicolas Sarkozy". "I don't think we can impose remembrance," former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said. Having pupils "adopt" a Holocaust victim was "something very heavy to carry around". Sarkozy's recent speeches to Catholics and Muslims prompted charges he was violating France's separation of church and state. He was the first French president to address the CRIF annual dinner, a role the prime minister normally takes. Sarkozy says he is a lapsed Catholic. Previous presidents avoided talking about faith even if they were believers themselves. He argues people of faith have a hope and purpose missing in modern society due to the "end of ideology" after the Cold War and the spread of disillusionment in consumer society. He told the CRIF his goal was not to tear down the wall between church and state but to help faith communities solve practical problems they face in dealing with the state. In his speech, Sarkozy took a step back from a comment he made in a Rome basilica that secular teachers could not replacethe clergy in teaching moral values to children. "I never said that secular morality is inferior to religious morality," he said. "My conviction is they complement each other and that, when it is difficult to discern good and evil, ... it is good to take inspiration from both of them." Education Minister Xavier Darcos said the Holocaust plan would "create an identification between a child of today and one of the same age who was deported and gassed." Pupils would conduct "an enquiry investigation into the (victim's) family, the milieu and the circumstances in which the child died". Related articles: Book on Greek-Jewish roots of Sarkozy goes on sale in Greece Olmert congratulates French people on election of Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy tells PM: Palestinian refugees will not return to Israel More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Seeking refuge 123 Sudanese refugees infiltrate Israel from Egypt overnight. Bracing for terror Israel, U.S. fear retaliatory strikes after killing of Mughniyah.   1.   Sarkozy...Cool Dude. 19:24  |  Stephen. 14/02/08   2.   CONVERT SARKOZY 19:24  |  Ishmael Ishmael 14/02/08   3.   down the bidet 19:25  |  Francophile 14/02/08   4.   Sarkozy 19:34  |  Dennis Slapo 14/02/08   5.   Good for Sarkozy 19:37  |  Gregg 14/02/08   6.   Sarko: smarter than you think 19:53  |  flimflam 14/02/08   7.   Challenge the status quo 19:57  |  Tbart 14/02/08   8.   Inhumanity - Memoirs of John Ranz 19:57  |  st. helen 14/02/08   9.   religions divides us. taches us to fight for god 20:06  |  bozhidar balkas 14/02/08   10.   Names of all French Jews who converted from Judaism 20:15  |  Semsem 14/02/08   11.   # 4 dennis 20:16  |  Axel 14/02/08   12.   Sarkozy and education on history 20:16  |  Lynn 14/02/08   13.   Sarkozy is just what the Dr. ordered 20:20  |  Shloimele 14/02/08   14.   Empathy for the victims 20:22  |  Ethel 14/02/08   15.   SARKOZY FAITHFUL TO HIS JEWISH ROOTS 20:28  |  JACKAL 14/02/08   16.   A Moment of Silence 20:29  |  Eliezer 14/02/08   17.   A Moment of Silence 20:29  |  Eliezer 14/02/08   18.   Chirac must be rolling in his grave! 21:02  |  Kevin 14/02/08   19.   How about teaching them about the ongoing Palestinian holocaust!! 21:02  |  Free Palestine 14/02/08   20.   Nice Catholic Boy: He should deepen his Catholic Faith 21:10  |  Catholic 14/02/08   21.   Another closet Zionist emerges 21:25  |  Curious Onlooker 14/02/08   22.   1 comment with 3 different paragraph. No offense please we can 21:42  |  Simon Mohammed 14/02/08   23.   Palestinian Holocaust 21:47  |  Jabotinsky 14/02/08   24.   learn the names of the people france slaughterd 21:56  |  billy jack 14/02/08   25.   Barvo Lynn! 22:01  |  Denise 14/02/08   26.   Eliezer - How about a moment of silence of the death of Jesus? 22:09  |  Good Idea! 14/02/08   27.   # 17 for sure we cant say that pales have la follie des grandeurs 22:09  |  Gabriel 14/02/08   28.   Children of Rwanda? 22:13  |  Michel 14/02/08   29.   I understand him 22:23  |  Edith 14/02/08   30.   sarkozy 22:37  |  louis 14/02/08   31.   curious onlooker, we are from the days... 22:49  |  Gabriel 14/02/08   32.   Teaching about the holocaust can be... 23:01  |  Edith 14/02/08   33.   He is brilliant, he means well... 23:05  |  Edith 14/02/08   34.   As almost everywhere in France... 23:15  |  Edith 14/02/08   35.   People *should* be traumatised by the Holocaust 00:23  |  Gili 15/02/08   36.   a moment of silence of the death of Jesus? 00:29  |  akiva (zionist) 15/02/08   37.   Michel of gay Paris. 00:37  |  akiva (zionist) 15/02/08   38.   No 4 German Insensitivity 00:39  |  Elly Feuerwerk 15/02/08   39.   Edith of Belgium 00:39  |  akiva (zionist) 15/02/08   40.   Sarkozy with the finger on Force de frappe has the other eye 00:46  |  sasson 15/02/08   41.   Attention seeker,if it`s not one thing it`s another and while on 00:58  |  lakshmi 15/02/08   42.   An invitation to Sarko 02:35  |  Danite 15/02/08   43.   To the Nay Sayers 02:37  |  Danite 15/02/08   44.   lakshmi -- what is wrong with France remembering its own? 02:43  |  bbl 15/02/08   45.   Sarkozy 03:01  |  sweis Melbourne 15/02/08   46.   "Sarko" the frankist 03:18  |  Moise 15/02/08   47.   Church and State 03:44  |  Bruce 15/02/08   48.   #44 great response to Laksashimi! 03:44  |  I love sushi 15/02/08   49.   Axel 03:54  |  Jane 15/02/08   50.   lakshmi, do you seek attention or dialogue??? 03:54  |  akiva (zionist) 15/02/08   51.   #21 03:55  |  Jane 15/02/08   52.   #44 03:57  |  Jane 15/02/08   53.   Great idea, if he was President of Israel! 04:38  |  What a joke 15/02/08   54.   Sarkozy 05:02  |  mannstein 15/02/08   55.   #44 bbl 05:04  |  Mudracker 15/02/08   56.   # 41 lakshmi.....when we mention Darfur 05:17  |  Lynn 15/02/08   57.   Why this limtation of empathy 12:23  |  Jean-Paul DOGUET 15/02/08   58.   Palestinian holocaust????????to Free Palestine 16:22  |  Esther 15/02/08   59.   Why focus on the past? 19:20  |  Jeff 15/02/08   60.   Vive Sarko :) 21:27  |  Arthur 15/02/08   61.   A bas Sarko! 00:48  |  A bitter psycho 16/02/08   62.   Sounds like a decent idea 09:03  |  B. 16/02/08   63.   to curious onlooker 09:05  |  B. 16/02/08   64.   Go Sarko 09:16  |  Youwish 16/02/08   65.   Strengthen Catholic Faith 09:23  |  Catholic`s Friend 16/02/08

Today Online Israel: We know how to deal with threats by Hezbollah Responses: 106 Palestinians: Ailing woman dies after IDF denies her access to ambulance Responses: 184 Editorial: As with Mughniyah, killing terrorists sometimes unavoidable Responses: 138 Zvi Bar'el: Roiled Hezbollah chief throws down the gauntlet Responses: 105 Roi Ben-Yehuda: If U.K. rejects sharia law, beit din will face same fate Responses: 85 Rosner's Domain Clinton's peace team: the attacks on Rob Malley "vicious" (WTR) Brzezinski in Israel (WTR) Most blatant example of Israeli interference in American election The U.S. and Mughniyah / Not just 'who' but also 'where' Poll: Was killing Mughniyah both justified and wise?