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World Jewish News
Attack on Paris synagogue Gaza related
06.01.2009
PARIS (JTA) -- A car containing Molotov cocktails rammed into the door of a synagogue in Toulouse, France, and burst into flames.
A rabbi and some ten of his adult students were in the synagogue during the attack Monday night, but were able to flee unharmed. A second car containing Molotov cocktails was also found near the synagogue, according to police.
The French Jewish community and government expressed their outrage and concern that anti-Semitism is on the rise in reaction to the current Israeli operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The National Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism also reported that a 29-year-old Jew was beaten by a group of people Sunday near the location of a pro-Palestinian protest-turned-riot in Paris.
The attackers yelled, " Palestine will vanquish."
The bureau's president, Sammy Ghozlan, said less violent cases of anti-Judaism were reported to be occurring daily since the Israeli offensive in Gaza began.
"Now we'll start to see a rise in young couples making aliyah," in response, he told JTA.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie condemned the Toulouse attack as "stupid and revolting," and assured that police would do "the maximum" to find those responsible.
Monday evening Alliot-Marie had already gathered French Jewish and Muslim leaders to discuss rising tensions between the two religions, in hopes of maintaining calm following country-wide pro-Palestinian rallies on Sunday, in which Israeli flags were burned and calls for Israel's destruction were frequent.
"The aggression that was expressed during the protest inspires fear," CRIF president, Richard Prasquier, told the French daily le Figaro in a Monday interview.
Источник: JTA
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