Since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, there has been a sharp rise in incidents of hate and violence against Jews across France, the chief rabbi of France, Rabbi Haim Korsia, who also is a leading figure in the Conference of European Rabbis, said on Wednesday .
"There have been 1,600 violent incidents in three months, compared to an average of 400 incidents per year before October," he said.
French authorities on Wednesday charged two 13-year-old boys with the gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a Paris suburb.
The attack, suspected to have been motivated by antisemitism, has sent shockwaves through the Jewish community and added to tensions ahead of a snap election that could bring the far-right National Rally party to power for the first time.
Regarding the recent antisemitic rape, the rabbi said: "On Saturday, a 12-year-old Jewish girl was raped by a group of teenagers, reportedly because of her Jewish background. Any rape, regardless of the motive, is a despicable act with no place in our world. However, the rape of this girl, born to Jewish parents, reminds us of times when the Jewish people were persecuted solely for being born into a different faith."
Rabbi Korsia pointed a finger at Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party. "We believe the far-left party, currently contesting elections in France, is directly responsible for the current state of Jews in France," he stated.
"The amount of incitement and hatred undoubtedly raises concerns about what will happen if this party continues to exist," according to the rabbi. "La France Insoumise (LFI) is a dangerous party that witnessed the October 7 massacre and decided it never happened. Instead of calming the situation on the streets, the party incites antisemitism, leading to incidents like the recent rape case. Politicians worldwide must understand that every word they utter can harm citizens simply because they belong to a different community. We are fighting to protect Jews around the globe."
The girl, who reportedly hid that fact that she was Jewish from a former boyfriend, claimed that she was raped in an abandoned hangar over the weekend. She and her parents arrived at a police station in the Hauts-de-Seine district, which includes the western suburbs of Paris, to file a complaint about the alleged rape.
Three boys were arrested Monday. Two of them, both aged 13, were charged with gang rape, antisemitic insults and violence and issuing death threats, and were remanded in custody. The third boy, 12, has also been charged with antisemitic insults and violence and issuing death threats, but not with rape. He has been allowed to return home after being charged.
The suspects beat her and “forced her to have anal and vaginal penetration, fellatio, while uttering death threats and antisemitic remarks,” a police source tells AFP. Her friend managed to identify two of the attackers.
The girl said she had been called a “dirty Jew,” another police source says.
One of the boys asked her questions about “her Jewish religion” and Israel, the source adds, citing the child’s statement to investigators.
French President Emmanuel Macron told government ministers that a “scourge of antisemitism” threatens French schools, a member of his entourage told APF.
Macron “spoke solemnly and seriously about the scourge of antisemitism” in a cabinet meeting, the source says, calling for “dialogue” about racism and hatred of Jews in schools to prevent “hateful speech with serious consequences” from “infiltrating” classrooms.