Rising Anti-Semitism in France: A Tragic Tale of a Young Girl's Ordeal
On June 15, a harrowing incident in Paris left the nation in shock and spurred widespread protests. The distraught parents of a 12-year-old Jewish girl who was brutally attacked have spoken out, fearing their daughter was targeted "because of her religion." This horrific event is believed to be an imitation of the atrocities carried out by Hamas on October 7 in Israel.
Paris, June 15 – A brutal attack on a 12-year-old Jewish girl has reignited concerns about escalating anti-Semitism in France. The girl, referred to as "A." to protect her identity, was kidnapped and raped by teenagers in Courbevoie, northwest of Paris, in an incident her parents believe mirrors the violence seen in Hamas' October 7 attacks in Israel.
The girl's father described the attack as "clearly anti-Semitic" and linked it to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict being imported into France. The victim’s mother revealed that one of the attackers asked their daughter about her religion before assaulting her, assuming her to be "pro-Israel" and anti-Palestinian. The girl and her family, however, are advocates for peace.
The girl had faced harassment at school, including fascist salutes and swastika graffiti, since the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalated last October. Her mother emphasized that this attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, more palpable wave of anti-Semitism in France.
The attack occurred when the girl was approached by two teenagers while walking home from a park. She was dragged into a shed and assaulted. The perpetrators, aged 12 and 13, were later arrested and charged with gang rape, death threats, and anti-Semitic violence. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.
This incident is part of a disturbing trend of rising anti-Semitic incidents in France, with reports of anti-Semitic violence tripling since October 7. The victim's parents expressed their fear that such attacks are a form of "mimicry" of the atrocities carried out by Hamas, underscoring the urgent need to address anti-Semitism within the context of broader geopolitical conflicts.
The assault has provoked national protests and brought attention to the alarming rise in anti-Semitic attacks across Europe. In Paris, more than 200 Star of David symbols were painted on buildings in November, reminiscent of the public identification of Jews during the Nazi era.
In another recent incident in April, a Jewish woman in France was raped and threatened by a man claiming to avenge Palestine. The French Interior Ministry reported 1,247 anti-Semitic incidents since October 7, nearly three times the total for all of 2022.
According to reports in French media, the boys all come from the neighbouring suburb of Rueil-Malmaison. Two, aged 13, have been indicted for 'gang rape, death threats, and insults and violence of an anti-Semitic nature'. If found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in a youth section of an adult prison, Nanterre prosecutors have indicated.
A third suspect, aged 12, was given the status of 'witness to rape' and charged with connected offences. The parents expressed concern their daughter's 'affair' could be used for political purposes, but linked the rise in anti-Semitism in France to the conflict in Gaza 'several thousand kilometres away'.
'In our opinion, there is a mimicry between the acts perpetrated by Hamas terrorists in the kibbutz and what our daughter suffered just down the street from us in Courbevoie,' the girl's mother acknowledged.
Reports of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe have risen in a number of states since the conflict erupted in October.
In November, more than 200 paintings of the Star of David appeared to mark buildings in Paris an act the Union of Jewish Students of France said was designed to mirror the public identification of Jewish people with armbands in Nazi Germany.
Little more than a month after Hamas' attack in Israel, the French Interior Ministry said 1,247 anti-Semitic incidents had been reported since October 7, nearly three times the total for all of 2022.
In April, a Jewish woman was allegedly raped and threatened with murder by a man who sought to 'avenge Palestine' in France.
A 32-year-old man was charged with issuing 'death threats due to religion' and use of narcotics following his arrest in Gennevilliers.
Police sources said the suspect had taken the woman's phone and texted her mother and ex-boyfriend after taking her captive in an apartment on avenue Chenard-et-Walker.
To her parents he wrote: 'Good luck, you will never find your daughter again, you will never see her again, I will desecrate your daughter.' To the former boyfriend he wrote that he wished to 'avenge Palestine'.
The victim was able to alert police when she recovered her phone and called her mother for help, prompting the geolocation of her call and an arrest later that day, initially suspected of kidnapping.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Image Credit: dailymail.com
Image Credit: dailymail.com
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