French Jewish Activist Ambushed at Home
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A French Jewish activist whose address was published in anti-Israel forums online was ambushed outside his home by several men who caused him minor injuries.
The incident Friday in Bobigny near Paris was part of several violent incidents and expressions of hate speech that occurred over the weekend across Europe in continuation of a surge in such incidents since Israel launched its Operation Protective Edge earlier this month in Gaza.
The 24-year-old’s name appeared last week on a page on Facebook which contained the names and photos of dozens of people, including some of their addresses. The Facebook page of “Young French Revolutionaries” was taken offline but a cached version of it shows the caption “Smile, you’re on camera” on the post containing the dozens of pictures and details.
The Union of Jewish Students of France, or UEJF, confirmed to Le Monde that the 24-year-old’s name appeared on the list. According to Le Monde, he is associated with the French Jewish Defense League, or LDJ – a far-right group with a history of vigilante reprisals for attacks on French Jews.
On Saturday, anti-Israel activists clashed with police at an unauthorized demonstration at Paris’ Place de la Republique. Forty people were arrested, according to the news site 20minutes.fr.
Last week, protesters tried to attack to synagogues at a similar protest near Sarcelles.
In an unusual move, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem urged European governments to protect Jews from anti-Semitic attacks connected Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The call came in a Yad Vashem statement on July 24.
World governments, “particularly in Europe,” should “take immediate steps, using the legal and moral tools at their disposal, to protect Jewish citizens in their countries,” Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev wrote in the statement, which is unusual for Yad Vashem because the text goes beyond Holocaust commemoration and documentation issues.
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