PARIS (AP) — French authorities are searching for the assailant who attacked a man as he emerged from a synagogue in Paris, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced late Saturday.
Darmanin said the alleged attack on a man in his early 60s was “another anti-Semitic attack in Paris” on Friday night. “Everything is being done to arrest the perpetrators of this unspeakable act,” Darmanin said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday night.
A man in his early 60s physically and verbally assaulted a man in his early 60s as he was leaving a synagogue in the 20th arrondissement of Paris around 5:30pm local time on Friday, according to reports in French media. It is said that he was seen there.
The assailant kicked and punched the man several times and continued to shout ethnic slurs, French broadcaster BFM reported, citing police sources.
The victim of the attack was taken to the hospital. The report also said the suspect in the attack fled on foot.
History repeats itself: Parisian houses tagged with Star of Davidhttps://t.co/qOA1lqilY4
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) November 1, 2023
The attack came hours after Interior Minister Darmanin announced he had ordered police departments across the country to “immediately strengthen protection” of Jewish communities, especially around schools and places of worship.
Darmanin said in a post on He said it was to prevent it. ”
A sharp increase in anti-Semitic acts has been reported in France following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th. There were 1,676 anti-Semitic acts reported in 2023, compared to 436 the year before, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior and the Jewish Community Protection Agency watchdog group.
The number of such attacks is increasing across Europe. A Swiss teenager has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing and seriously injuring an Orthodox Jewish man on a Zurich street, police said Sunday.
They said in a statement that anti-Semitism was suspected as a motive.
Jewish population in Paris suburbs plummets https://t.co/N3FDNG9NEA
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 22, 2019
