A statue of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French soldier falsely accused of treason in the most infamous antisemitic scandal of the late 19th century, has been erected in Tel Aviv.

The statue, a copy of one unveiled in France in the 1980s, was placed near the French Institute in the Israeli city at the junction between Rothschild Avenue and Herzl Street.

Among those present for the ceremony were the mayors of Tel Aviv and Paris, Ron Huldai and Anne Hidalgo, as well as French ambassador to Israel Helene Le Gal and both Charles Dreyfus and Yael Perl Ruiz, Alfred Dreyfus's grandson and great-granddaughter.

The French Jewish artillery officer was charged with treason in 1894 and subjected to a political trial that remains one of the most notorious examples of institutional antisemitism in modern French history. He was eventually exonerated completely.

Also present at this weekend's unveiling were Philippe Val, former editor of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, and Martine Blond-Zola, the great-granddaughter of Émile Zola, whose open letter, J’Accuse, brought the Dreyfus Affair — as it became known — to international attention.

Ms Perl Ruiz told the Ynet Israeli news site that the statue was “of tremendous importance”.

“Now, the younger generation, that doesn’t know the story, can learn about the Dreyfus affair,” she said.

A film telling the story of the Dreyfus affair, also titled J’Accuse, is due to be released next year.