A 34-year-old Jewish man was allegedly killed by his Muslim roommate in Longperrier, a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. The National Bureau of Vigilance against Antisemitism (BNVCA) provided the identity of the man: Eliahou Haddad.
“The BNVCA received requests of many correspondents who see information circulating [online] about the murder of a man of Jewish faith, from Djerba in Tunisia and whose family lives in Beer Sheva in Israel," reads a press release form the BNVCA.
"The assassination was committed by a suspect of [the] Muslim faith. The concern is heightened by the silence surrounding this case," the organization added, likely referring to the murder so other Jews like Sarah Halimi.
“The Crif expresses its full solidarity with the family of Eliahou Haddad, killed on August 19 in Longperrier,” Yonathan Arfi, president of the Crif Jewish umbrella organization in France, tweeted. He added that “we hope for information quickly [about the murder] and ask that all possibilities be examined at this stage, including the possibility of the aggravating factor of antisemitism.” Some of the reports suggest that he was murdered on August 20, not the 19th.
Le Crif exprime sa pleine solidarité à la famille d'Eliahou Haddad, tué le 19 août à Longperrier (77).Nous espérons rapidement des informations et demandons que toutes les pistes soient explorées à ce stade, y compris l'éventualité du facteur aggravant d''antisémitisme.
— Yonathan Arfi (@Yonathan_Arfi) August 29, 2022
What do we know so far?
According to i24NEWS, the suspect allegedly said that the victim, who possibly lived in the same flat, owed him 100 euros and had not returned them, then confessed that he killed him because he was Jewish.
"According to our information, the assassin smashed his victim's skull with an ax, then he burned his face and even began to bury the body. He turned himself into the police,” the BNVCA statement said.
“The BNVCA is closely interested in this case, asks that the facts be examined by considering the antisemitic character and by not dismissing it as a priori,” the statement continued.
'It doesn't seem like an antisemitic attack," a senior figure in a large Jewish Organization told The Jerusalem Post on Monday regarding the murder of Haddad. According to the official, Jewish leadership has been informed about this murder for at least a week and they are in touch with law enforcement.
"We're pushing at the moment for the authorities to understand if this is actually an antisemitic murder or rather just a fight between friends," he said and added that it seems as though the attack has to do with "interpersonal relationship. The two knew each other very well."
The official assured that his organization is in constant contact with the Interior Ministry in France. "If it is a murder with an antisemitic motive, we would like to know, but if it wasn't - we also need to know," he said. He added that "it's been three months with three Jews being killed in weird situations in France, so we need to understand if there is a reason behind these terrible situations."