French rabbi allegedly assaulted by teenager in antisemitic attack
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident and said it “shocks us all”
Rabbi Arié Engelberg giving on online sermon. (Screenshot)
(JTA) — The chief rabbi of the French city Orléans was physically assaulted and called antisemitic slurs while walking with his 9-year-old son on Shabbat.
Chief Rabbi Arié Engelberg was walking with his son from synagogue on Saturday afternoon when a 16-year-old approached him and asked if he was Jewish, according to Agence France-Presse.
After Engelberg said he was Jewish, the teenager allegedly began hurling slurs at him and filming him. When Engelberg pushed the teen’s phone away, the teen allegedly punched and bit him.
The teenage assailant was arrested and taken to a psychiatric facility, according to the Associated Press. Engelberg was taken to a hospital where his condition was described as stable but serious, according to Israeli media cited by the Times of Israel.
French President Emannuel Macron condemned the incident.
“The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all,” Macron wrote in a post on X. “I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation. Antisemitism is poison. We will not give in to silence or inaction.”
France, which is home to an estimated 440,000 Jews, the most of any country in Europe, has seen a sharp rise in antisemitism since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. According to data from the French Interior Ministry, the country saw 1,570 antisemitic acts in 2024, accounting for over half of the religion-based hate crimes in the country.
Until Saturday’s attack, the city of Orléans had been largely unaffected by the trends in hate crimes “apart from some graffiti,” Andre Druon, an Orléans Jewish community leader, told AFP.
A silent march is planned in Orléans Tuesday in response to the attack, according to AFP.
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