Israel Matzav

And again: It's time for Jews to leave France

"Take that, dirty Jew." Kippa-wearing French boy assaulted in Paris's 19th: http://t.co/Z05fDZz4p8

— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) July 10, 2015

When I was in Chicago last week, I visited two old family friends who had a grandson visiting. I assumed it was one of their local grandsons, but it turned out to be the son of their daughter who married a Spaniard and was living in France. No more. The daughter and son-in-law are moving to Israel. This incident - in which a 13-year old wearing a kippa (skullcap) was beaten and robbed by six men outside his school in a clearly anti-Semitic attack - makes me wonder why any Jews remain in France. It's not like they are not free to leave....

The incident occurred on July 7 in the French capital’s 19th arrondissement, near the Gare du Nord train station, according to a report published by BNCVA, the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism.

The 13-year-old boy, who was not named, was followed by six men of African descent as he exited the school while wearing a kippa, the report said. One of his aggressors shouted: “Take that, dirty Jew” while the group was hitting the boy. One of the young men also stole the boy’s cellular phone before fleeing the scene.

The boy was taken to a hospital where he received stitches to wounds on his head.

Last year, the Jewish community recorded a total of 241 violent attacks on Jews out of a total of 851 anti-Semitic incidents. The previous year, those figures were 105 and 423, respectively. In January, an armed Islamist killed four Jews at a Paris kosher supermarket.

Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands are among the other countries that saw increases in anti-Semitic attacks over the same period.

Why Jews are remaining in France - or anywhere in Europe - is simply a mystery to me. They're free to leave, the costs are not prohibitive and the governments are not holding them hostage (unlike, for example, the Soviet Union). Why would anyone stay? Even if you have a business, move your family and commute (many Israelis commute to Europe - some even commute to the US traveling even more often than I do).

Shabbat Shalom everyone. 

Labels: France, French anti-Semitism, Paris

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:12 PM