Wiesenthal Centre to French Interior Minister : "We commend your acknowledgement this armed robbery and rape as 'antisemitic' and the police rapid arrests

SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE-EUROPE
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"These young criminals are influenced to emulate in France HAMAS and ISISviolence in the Middle East".

"Yesterday's Assemblée Nationale resolution on Palestine can only encourage belief that, in France, Jihadi acts can be wreaked withimpunity".



In a letter to French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr. ShimonSamuels commended his
"characterization of the Monday 1 December armed robbery and rape in Creteil, as 'an antisemitic act,' " adding that "the choice of victim forthis outrageous attack was unambiguously justified by the perpetrator as 'Jews are rich' and recalls the 2006 kidnapping, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi, as his family­ were similarlyconsidered as 'Jews who were rich' ".

The letter stressed that "now rape is a new feature in the increasing violence of antisemitism in France".

Samuels also congratulated the police "for the rapid arrest of the three perpetrators, but hopes for a similarly prompt and severe judicialpenalty", arguing that "the usual suspended sentence and revolving door justice would only encourage further and increasingly violent copycat attacks".

The Centre claimed that, "these young criminals are influenced to emulate, in France, HAMAS and ISIS violence in the Middle East, as presentedon Jihadist satellite television and websites".

"One can only hope that yesterday's Assemblée Nationale resolution on Palestine does not further encourage French Jihadi interns to believethat they can wreak such acts with impunity" concluded Samuels.

For further information please contact Shimon Samuels + (0)609770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updatessent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agenciesincluding the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).