A French rabbi was attacked with a glass bottle and called a “dirty Jew” while walking in Levallois-Perret in the Île-de-France region on Sunday. After the attacker was arrested, it was revealed that this was his fifth instance of targeting a rabbi since last September.
Rabbi Yahir Elbaze of Beit Chabad Levallois gave video testimony to C News on Tuesday. “I was walking down the street and suddenly I saw a bottle flying, a glass bottle,” he said. “At first, I thought it must have come from the building next to me, but it turned out it was someone across the street who had thrown it. It landed about 30 to 50 c.m. in front of me. Then I heard ‘dirty Jew.’”
Elbaze added that “These things don’t happen in Levallois” and that this is partly because the Jewish community has “a very good relationship with the mosque, with the [mosque’s] president, Mr. Essebki, and [with] the imam.”
He noted that the two leaders of the mosque visited him on Monday to show their support.
“There are delinquents, outlaws who behave badly. They are the ones who should be afraid. I don’t think we should be the ones living in fear – that would mean they’ve won,” he added.
According to French news network C News, the police were able to identify the suspect thanks to CCTV footage, and he has been arrested.
Muriel Ouaknine-Melki – a criminal lawyer and president of the European Jewish Organization – appeared on the C News after the rabbi’s testimony.
She provided additional details on the case, noting that the case is currently being tried in a court in Nanterre, and that the prosecutor has submitted their sentencing recommendation: 10 months in prison, with six months suspended, and prohibition of contacting the victim for three years and from appearing near synagogues for five years.
Suspect is not a first-time offender
According to Ouaknine-Melki, the suspect is well-known to the justice system and is not a first offender.
“In fact, since September, this is his fifth antisemitic attack targeting a rabbi,” she said.
She explained that the European Jewish Organization is following several cases of violence against rabbis in the Paris region, and that antisemitic acts are “becoming more and more violent.”
“Prosecutors across the country need to be even firmer, and the justice system needs to respond more severely. We must be able to continue living as French citizens of Jewish faith without fearing for our safety when leaving the synagogue.”
She noted that the attack on Elbaze was the third antisemitic aggression of the weekend.
“This past Saturday, an 80-year-old man was attacked after leaving synagogue; left in a pool of blood. That same evening, a Jewish family was harassed at a hotel in the provinces. Then, on Sunday, this rabbi was assaulted. Every day brings a new antisemitic incident.”
Noëlle Lenoir, French politician and former minister for European Affairs, told C News that she believes “France has become the most antisemitic country in Europe.”
“Antisemitism has always existed in France, but now it’s evolved. Today, it also comes from the far Left. They won’t say they’re antisemitic, but they send signals and coded messages that resonate with antisemitic populations.”
The Jerusalem Post has reached out to the local police and prosecution for comment.