International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism

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The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French—was established in 1927 and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia, and exclusion.

In 1927, French journalist Bernard Lecache created "The League Against Pogroms" and launched a media campaign in support of Sholom Schwartzbard, who assassinated Symon Petliura on May 25, 1926, in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Schwartzbard viewed Petliura as responsible for numerous pogroms in Ukraine. After Schwartzbard's acquittal, the league evolved into LICA (Ligue internationale contre l'antisémitisme, or International League Against Anti-Semitism), and Schwartzbard would become a prominent and active member of the organization.

In 1931, LICA counted 10,000 subscribers in France. It played a significant role during the battle between leagues in February 1934. After 1932, LICA evolved into LICRA, but the name was officially changed only in 1979 during the long presidency of Jean Pierre-Bloch (from 1968 to 1992 in office).

In September 1939, as the Second World War started, numerous LICRA subscribers were mobilized, and many were members of the Resistance throughout the war. During the German occupation of France, LICRA was banned by the Vichy government and had to regroup clandestinely to help the victims of Nazi racial measures. This was done by hiding them away from Paris, by providing them with fake IDs, and by helping them escape to Switzerland, Spain, and England.

In 1972, a law authorized LICRA to counsel victims of racist acts during their court appearances. Later, LICRA received considerable media attention during the case of LICRA v. Yahoo!, in which it brought charges against Yahoo! for selling Nazi memorabilia to people in France in violation of French laws proposed, passed, and used by and for LICRA.

The LICRA campaigns against neonazism and Holocaust denial. For example, it supported the Klarsfeld couple (Serge and Beate Klarsfeld) and was active during Klaus Barbie's trial in 1987.

In the 1990s, LICRA opened branches abroad: in Switzerland, in Belgium, in Luxembourg, in Germany, in Portugal, in Quebec, and more recently, in Congo Brazzaville and in Austria.

From 1999, with the arrival of President Patrick Gaubert, LICRA broadened its scope to include addressing social issues such as work discrimination, citizenship, and disadvantaged youth.