Martine Ouaknine, another knight in France and in Nice, what is your feeling today on this very special day for you?
I am overwhelmed by emotion; it’s a great honor bestowed upon me by France and also Nice, as this is where it all began. This grand adventure both in my community engagements as the head of the CRIF and also in my encounters with Christian Estrosi, Eric Ciotti, and Rudy Salles, who were the masterminds behind this ceremony and the medal I received. I am very touched and very grateful to France for what it has given me. I hope that in my municipal roles in Nice, I will be able to give back a little of what I have received and contribute to its well-being.
Indeed, the CRIF was given prominence in your speech. I believe that this Legion of Honor is also a reward for the CRIF?
Absolutely, it is a responsibility that I held for 7 years during sometimes difficult periods in France more so than in Nice, and during somewhat less difficult times; but in any case, it is a position that brought me immense joy and responsibility, confronted me with important decisions, and allowed me to have great and wonderful encounters with elected officials, notably Christian Estrosi, with whom we organized the journey of remembrance.
You spoke in your speech about the journeys of remembrance to Auschwitz. Did you realize that this journey remains in the memory of these children?
I am convinced that exemplarity is something important; moral lessons are important, history lessons are fundamental, but nothing beats showing young people, who by definition have rebellious minds – and we were young, so we know this – nothing beats the example on the ground. Unfortunately, at Auschwitz, there are so many ghosts haunting this place, so many places of memory that I am convinced that if out of 100 children we bring, if 30 or 40 return with the conviction that racism must disappear from their minds, we have won our bet.
