Violence against Jewish people in Paris has been condemned by the Prime Minister of France.
A synagogue and shops were looted by a masked mob on the rampage protesting against Israel’s military action in Gaza. A funeral parlour and a pharmacy were amongst the premises damaged during the illegal protest which turned violent on Sunday (20 July).
It happened in the Sarcelles suburb not far from the French city. The local Mayor said such violence had never been seen in the Parisian location before and the Sephardic Jewish community was now living in fear.
PM Manuel Valls condemned the violence at a ceremony commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the Val d’Hive which saw 7,000 Jews packed by Nazi-compliant French police into the Velodrome d’Hiver indoor sports before they were taken to concentration camps such as Auschwitz.
PM Valls said a new form of anti-semitism was being spread ‘on the Internet, on networks, in working class areas, among young people who are often aimless, who have no awareness of history, who hide their hatred of the Jews behind the facade of anti-Zionism and behind hatred of the Israeli state’.
Violence against Jews in France has led to 2,200 people leaving the country for Israel in the first six months of this year, reports France 24 – compared to less than 600 this time last year.