Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Robbers ‘Dressed Like Haredis’ Clean Out Jewish Jeweler in France

Armed robbers reportedly “dressed like haredis” ripped off a Jewish jeweler in France before releasing toxic gas in the air.

Four men approached the jeweler near his Marseille shop on Wednesday morning, the news site La Depeche reported. Two were “dressed like haredis,” according to the French news agency AFP, and two wore masks. At least one of the robbers was toting an AK-47 assault rifle, AFP reported.

The men kidnapped the jeweler, who was not named, and forced him to open his shop. After the robbery they released a gas that caused “skin irritation and breathing difficulties” to about 30 residents of nearby apartments, La Depeche reported.

Residents called the police to report the gas as the suspects drove away, taking the Jewish jeweler with them as a hostage. They left the jeweler unharmed inside the car on a freeway outside Marseille, took another car and drove away.

A Scene from the Film ‘Snatch’

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.