France arrests young man for suspected attack on rabbi
French police have arrested a young man on suspicion of attacking a rabbi in broad daylight, a prosecutor said Sunday, shocking the Jewish community and prompting a wave of condemnation.
The attack against the Rabbi of Orleans, Arie Engelberg, happened as he walked with his nine-year-old son from synagogue on Saturday afternoon in the city, about 110 kilometres (68 miles) south of Paris.
Engelberg told BFM television that his attacker asked if he was Jewish. "I said yes."
"He started saying 'all Jews are sons of...," he said, adding that he wanted to film him with his phone as he hurled insults.
"I decided to act and I pushed his telephone away," the rabbi said. His attacker then "started punching and I protected myself", he added.
Engelberg said the suspect bit him until several people stepped in to help, he told the channel.
"I'm OK, thank God, my son, I'm getting better and better. We've had an enormous amount of support."
Police were checking the identity of the person in custody since he did not have documents on him when he was detained, Orleans prosecutor Emmanuelle Bochenek-Puren said.
Another source with knowledge of the case said the suspect arrested on Saturday night was known under at least three identities, one Moroccan and two Palestinian.
- Shaken -
France is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States, as well as the largest Muslim community in the European Union.
Several EU nations have reported a spike in "anti-Muslim hatred" and "anti-Semitism" since the Gaza war started on October 7, 2023, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.On that date, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a cross-border attack in Israel, resulting in the death of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's subsequent military offensive on Gaza has killed more than 50,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run occupied Palestinian territory. The United Nations deems the figures reliable.
Andre Druon, a Jewish community leader in Orleans, said there had not been any incident in Orleans since October 7, 2023 "apart from some graffiti" before the "very violent" attack on the rabbi.
He said the rabbi was profoundly shaken when he recounted his ordeal to the community on Sunday.
Yann Dhieux, a locksmith, told AFP he had intervened with his arms wide and helped stop the assault, but that it was shocking to see the rabbi attacked in front of his young son.
Some 300 people gathered at the Bastille square in Paris to denounce the attack following an appeal by a Jewish students' association, and a silent march is planned for Tuesday evening in Orleans.
President Emmanuel Macron voiced solidarity with the rabbi's family and all French people of Jewish faith.
"Anti-Semitism is a poison," he wrote on X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was "shocked" by the attack and called for "zero tolerance for anti-Semitism".
France witnessed some 1,570 anti-Semitic acts last year, the interior ministry says. They made up 62 percent of all acts of hatred on the basis of religion.
tmn-laf-tll-ah/phz/gv
© Agence France-Presse
‘Hit pieces’: Trump melts down over ‘Maggot Hagerman’ and ‘deranged’ NYT editors
Donald Trump on Sunday berated a familiar target of his: the New York Times.
Specifically, the President took to his own social media site, Truth Social, to attack journalist Maggie Haberman. Recently, Trump attacked Haberman after she reported on purported plans for the DOD to brief Elon Musk on Chinese war plans.
"The Failing New York Times insists on using Liddle’ Peter Baker, a really bad writer and Obama biographer and sycophant, to write many of the long and boring Fake News hit pieces against me," Trump wrote.
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
Trump then continued, "The only two people with less talent than Peter are his 'wife,' the lovely Susan Glasser, and, of course, Maggot Hagerman, who may be the least talented writer in the entire stable of New York Times’ MEDIOCRITY!"
Trump added, "There’s something really wrong with these people, and their SICK, TRUMP DERANGED EDITORS."
"They did everything within their power to help rig the Election against me," the President concluded. "How did that work out??? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
‘He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’: Trump resurrects beef with ‘second rate’ George Clooney
Donald Trump on Sunday resurrected a beef with movie star George Clooney.
Trump took to his own social media site, Truth Social, over the weekend, saying, "Why would the now highly discredited 60 Minutes be doing a total 'puff piece' on George Clooney, a second rate movie 'star,' and failed political pundit."
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
Trump then continued: "He fought hard for Sleepy Joe’s election and then, right after the Debate, dumped him like a dog."
"Later, I assume under orders from the Obama camp, pushed all out for 'Kamala,' only to soon realize that that was not going to work out to well. 60 Minutes even fraudulently inserted Fake answers into her disastrous interview, aired just before Election Day, in one of the most embarrassing and dishonest events in broadcast history…And now George Clooney again?" Trump asked. "His press agent should be making a fortune!!!"
