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A I It R I T II INTE It NATI (1 N A L
Three Beaten
Latest attack on Jews in Paris
renews the debate over cause.
Paris/JTA
ST TANAH
TOVAH
GREAT LAKES REGION
Peter A. Perlman
President
()FFICERS
Todd Barry
Nancy Braun
Gary Karp
Steve Rotenberg
Sid Roth
TRUSTEES
Rod Brown
Patty (-,eresnie
Ed Colton
Josh Goldberg
Rob Kaplan
Jeff Le:bowitz
Satutra Maurer
Marty Melton
Stuart. Novick
Jerry Olson
Lyle Schaefer
Rick Shertine
Mark Seitz
Michelle Soltz
Fran White
Lila Zorn
Stephen B. Zorn
Immediate Past President
John Rofel
Senior Vice President
Irnai. Writ!) International Executive Committee
R'nai
Arline Bittker
International Executive Committee
www.bnaibrith.org
6735 Telegraph Rd., Suite 304, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48301
248-646-3100 greatlakes a bnaibrith.org
A54
September 25 • 2008
Racist motives in the incident are in
doubt because police sources reported
he father of one of the lat-
that one suspect was Jewish. Now offi-
est Jewish beating victims
cials and the Jewish community, which
in the French capital's 19th
was also quick to label the attack anti-
district has no plans to leave his home Semitic, are facing questions from a
anytime soon. Nor does he have any
skeptical French public.
intention of asking his son Dan to hide
The skepticism grew when Paris
his religious identity.
prosecutors said the teens were not
The 17-year-old and two other
attacked because of anti-Semitism.
teens were wearing kipot when they
Five of the six suspects questioned in
were beaten Sept. 6 on the same street the assault were indicted for group
as another Jewish teen in June. The
"voluntary violence the French Press
victims suffered minor fractures and
Agency reported. The suspects are age
bruises. Speaking at the computer
16 to 23.
software company where
"Did the political world
he works, the father,
and the organizational
Thierry, who asked that his
milieu lack caution?" the
last name not be used for
Le Monde daily asked.
VS.
security reasons, said he
The same article quoted
refuses to "let them stop us
spokesmen from the Paris
from living"
mayor's office and the inte-
Anti-Semitism in not
rior minister's office saying
new to the 19th district,
they had made their con-
the northeastern Paris section that is
clusions based on police information
home to the city's largest Jewish com-
given to them.
munity — some 30,000 — made up
Prosecutors have maintained that
mostly of low-income, Orthodox Jews. anti-Semitism played a role in the June
France has western Europe's largest
assault against Rudy Haddad.
Jewish population, approximately
When anti-Semitic incidents rose
600,000.
sharply between 2000 and 2004, at
Some Jewish community activists
the height of tensions between Israel
were initially optimistic that the lat-
and the Palestinians, the atmosphere
est attack — which French officials
was often likened to the horrors of the
immediately attributed to racism —
World War II era, sparking sensitivity
would help shift the analysis of ethnic
among the French. That tone of skepti-
tensions in the poor, immigrant-heavy cism sometimes boils over into hostil-
neighborhood.
ity toward French Jews, who already
This summer's string of violence
face accusations of pushing their own
intensified a debate over whether anti- agenda at the expense of other minori-
Jewishness is a deeply rooted problem
ties and of presumably influencing the
among the youth in the working-class
government.
district or whether random Jewish
"Because of systematically crying
vs. Muslim gang violence instigated
wolf, the Jews risk to lose all credit:'
by outsiders from nearby ghettos is
said one reader comment on the mod-
mostly to blame for ethnic tensions
erate-left daily Liberation Web site. It
and is being overblown by skittish
was one of hundreds of postings in
French Jews.
response to the revelation that one of
"We're at a crossroads:' said Raphael the suspected attackers was Jewish.
Haddad, 26, the president of the
"It's time for the Jews to stop
French Student Union, UEJF. "Today,
lamenting and for the Jews to stop
there are these two theses being debat- continually considering themselves as
ed in France and our work is to show
victims. Other categories of people can
what is due to racist crime and what is more justifiably complain;' another
based on simply gang violence."
post read, but others "hide their mis-
ery."
Jewish Attacker?
The 19th district suffers from a high
T
Debate over
racism
gangs.