Hamas-Inspired Anti-Semitism in France

Since the murderous 7 October terror attack by Hamas in Southern Israel, no less than 1,800 anti-Semitic incidents havebeen reported in France. Though a record number of perpetrators have been identified, most are still on the loose. In several cases, acts and threats of violence are directed towards women,”stated Wiesenthal Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels. Some examples:

1) In November, a 30 year-old, in Lyon, was stabbed in her stomach. A swastika had been etched next to amezuzah, the small prayer box usually attached to the doorpost of a Jewish home. The perpetrator is still at large. Police suggested the act may be related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

2) Again last month, a Jewish woman, parking her car next to a Talmudic school in AIx-les-Bains, was insulted by a passer-by, whoshouted "Dirty Jew!" and also pepper-sprayed her. The perpetrator was another woman, identified by witnesses and apparently found in possession of drugs when arrested. She confessed usingpepper-spray, but denied the anti-Semitic insults (that could add 6 months and a hefty fine to her sentence). She is reportedly not kept in jail, while her trial is planned for February.

3) Several reports of intimidation in the Paris metro have surfaced, from the gang chanting "Fuck the Jews and their mothers..." toanother incident, apparently involving a young man wearing a hoodie, who asked a girl: “Are you Jewish?” When she promptly denied, he said “Good, because if you were a Jew, I’d have to kill you!”In this case, the offender has not been identified and caught.

4) This Tuesday, a knife-wielding individual entered a Jewish day nursery in a Paris suburb, threatening to kill the Jewishdirector, a 45 year-old mother. He slammed his fist on her desk, waving the 5-inch knife, screaming “You Jew, you Zionist, I will return with five others to rape you, then we’ll cut you up likethey did in Gaza.” When questioned by the police, she noted that the children were safe beyond a security door, while the perpetrator seemed to be "high on drugs"... So were, according to medicalreports, many of the terrorists on 7 October.

5) Since the war against Hamas began, many cases of insults and threats of violence through social media have been reported byhigh-school and university students, often evoking the mass sexual assault by Gaza-based terrorists, in order to further intimidate young women. Of course, in most of these cases,the anonymous trolls are untrackable...

“It is essential that perpetrators of anti-Semitic violence, insults and threats be identified, tried and sentenced rapidly andeffectively. They must be confronted by the force of the law and face justice. Hamas-style brutality, especially against women and children, must not come to Paris!” concluded Samuels.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is aninternational Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament(PARLATINO).