A/51/301 English Page 18 be noted that the school drop-out rate is generally higher in the rest of the Israeli population, particularly among low-income groups." 36. In South Africa, some 10 million immigrants have settled illegally. Half of them are from Mozambique. As elsewhere, the foreigners are accused of everything that goes wrong, particularly the high rate of crime in certain outlying districts of Johannesburg. The Government intends to normalize the situation of illegal immigrants who entered the country more than five years ago and send the others back to their countries of origin. In 1995, it reportedly spent more than $30 million to repatriate 100,000 clandestine immigrants. 17/ 37. Having become aware of a tract threatening foreigners, namely, nationals of neighbouring African countries, who had come to seek their fortune in Côte d’Ivoire, the Special Rapporteur wrote to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to inquire about rumours of a wave of xenophobia sweeping through the country, in order to prevent any incidents which might lead to pogroms between ethnic groups and foreigners as in the past. 18/ The Government of Côte d’Ivoire has not responded. B. Racist horror and terror become commonplace 38. This section deals with the resurgence of denial of the holocaust in France, and the increase in the number of cases of arson of African-American churches in the south of the United States of America. 39. The school of thought which denies the holocaust, that is, essentially negates the historicity of the gas chambers and the genocide of the Jews, has recently resurfaced in France following the publication of Mr. Roger Garaudy’s work entitled "Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israëlienne". The author claims that "the myth of the 6 million Jews who were exterminated has become dogma which regards as sacred (as the word ’holocaust’ itself would indicate) all of Israel’s abuses in Palestine". Garaudy maintains that the Jews make use of the Shoah in order to place themselves "above all international law". He believes that "no critical rebuttal no scientific debate" has ever disproved the claims of those who deny the holocaust; they have been met with only silence or suppression. Accordingly, he believes that "there might be doubt and even scepticism" about the reality of the Shoah. 40. These views triggered a huge debate when the famous champion of the poor, human rights militant and founder of Emmaüs, the Abbé Pierre, defended Mr. Garaudy despite the fact that the author had been investigated for the denial of crimes against humanity. The court investigation into the case is proceeding and the Abbé Pierre, having refused to condemn Mr. Garaudy’s ideas, has been expelled from the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism. The Abbé has also incurred the criticism of the media for denouncing a "Zionist plot". 19/ 41. This incident, one of many in the 1990s, seeks to make the Jewish genocide a commonplace in order to ensure that anti-Semitism - a painful issue and one of the most sensitive - becomes firmly entrenched. /...