On Shabbos morning, Jewish residents of Paris were shocked to find a historic shul, Holocaust memorial, kosher restaurant, and the synagogue of the Union of Jewish Communities all defaced with green paint.
Jewish community institutions in Paris were vandalized yesterday in the Marais district in central Paris, according to French media reports based on police sources. A Holocaust memorial, a shul, a kosher restaurant, and the synagogue of the Union of Jewish Communities were defaced with green paint.
The incident was discovered by a police patrol around 5:15 AM. According to a report by Dov Gil-Har on Kan 11, the Tournelles Synagogue of the Union of Communities is an Orthodox Ashkenazi and Sephardi shul located in the Marais district. Arthur Weil, the mayor of central Paris, posted on X: “We know where such ‘militant’ acts begin, but not where they end.”
Security footage from the Holocaust memorial showed a person dressed in black at the site around 4:35 AM. An open can of green paint was found at the foot of the restaurant’s façade.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau responded to the incident, stating: “I am filled with disgust at these vile acts targeting the Jewish community.” France’s Minister for the Fight Against Discrimination, Aurora Bergé, also reacted: “Desecrating the Holocaust memorial, defacing and marking Jewish shuls and a kosher restaurant — the Republic will never allow this. I’ve spoken with the Paris Police Commissioner. We will do everything to track down the perpetrators.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the vandalism: “I was shocked by the attack on Jewish institutions in Paris over Shabbos — including the historic synagogue in the Marais district, established by my great-grandfather, Rabbi Yoel Herzog. I spoke with the leadership of CRIF and heads of the Jewish community in France, and expressed my full support and solidarity with them in this difficult hour. I call on the French authorities to act swiftly and decisively to bring the attackers to justice and protect the Jewish community from all forms of hatred or violence.”
Photo: Morde’hai Lubecki
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