‘No To Zionist’ Graffiti Painted On French Synagogue
Le Havre Image by iStock
(JTA) — Graffiti reading “no to Zionists, no to Israel” was painted on a synagogue in western France.
The vandals behind the action, which was discovered on Saturday at the main Jewish house of worship in the coastal city of Le Havre, 100 miles northwest of Paris, also placed stickers displaying the Palestinian, Lebanese and French flags on the building’s entrance.
In 2016, bullet holes were found in the mailbox of the same synagogue, the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, noted in a statement Tuesday. BNVCA called on authorities, who have no suspects in custody for either incident, to “do everything in their power” to bring the culprits to justice.
“Anti-Zionist rhetoric targeting Israel that is placed on a synagogue confirms that anti-Zionists are notorious anti-Semites,” BNVCA wrote.
In 2014, at least nine Jewish houses of worship were targeted, some with firebombs, amid riots throughout France over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
