Paris police probing two assaults on Jewish teens as hate crimes
Male and female victim attacked in two separate incidents during the week, as authorities investigate if they're driven by antisemitism
Two Jewish teenagers were assaulted in separate incidents on the streets of Paris in what police are investigating as possible hate crimes.
A male victim, 19, was attacked Wednesday at about 5 p.m. by three men in Paris’ 19th District after noticing that one of the assailants was trying to steal his wallet and computer from his bag, the Le Point newspaper reported last Friday.
Upon seeing that the man was wearing a kippah, the alleged pickpocket and two accomplices shoved the Jewish man to the floor and kicked him repeatedly in the back at a bus stop and ran away, according to the report, which is based on the alleged victim’s complaint to police.
The incident involving the teenage girl occurred the previous day in Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris with a sizable Jewish community, Le Point reported. She was hit forcefully in the back by a man who spoke Arabic to her. She did not understand what the man said, she told police. The man, whom the alleged victim did not recognise, pointed his finger at her and made gestures evocative of firing a handgun, she said.
The alleged victim, a student at a Jewish high school for girls, was wearing that institution’s uniform when the attack occurred, the report said. Her friend was walking alongside her and witnessed the exchange. Both were wearing clothes that identified them as Jews, according to the report.
Separately, unidentified individuals wrote “Long live Palestine, Jews out” on a Paris synagogue. Worshipers discovered the graffiti on Saturday on the wall of a synagogue in Les Lilas, an eastern suburb of Paris bordering on the 19th District, the Le Monde Juif news website reported.
In another incident, the word “Jews” was spray-painted on a shop display in a suburb of Dusseldorf, Germany.
The graffiti in Germany, which is reminiscent of the marking of Jewish-owned shops by the Nazis, was found in Ratingen last month, north of Dusseldorf, the Ratinger Zeitung reported. The report did not say whether the shop targeted was indeed owned by Jews.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
