Posted on 11/15/2003 4:32:20 PM PST by anotherview
Nov. 15, 2003
Arsonists torch Jewish school near Paris
By MICHEL ZLOTOWSKI
Jewish school destroyed by a fire early Saturday in Gagny, north of Paris
Photo: AP
Fire gutted the Merkaz HaTorah Jewish secondary school in the Paris suburb of Gagny in the Seine-Saint-Denis region Saturday morning at 3am. There were no injuries.
Fire started simultaneously in two separate places on the first floor of the school where works were under way. A primary school and a kindergarten for 200 children were to be inaugurated there in January 2004. The arsonist or arsonists broke into the building through a ground floor window.
About 100 firefighters were called in to put out the flames, which destroyed some 3,000 square metres on the school's second floor.
France's Minister of Interior Nicolas Sarkozy and Minister of Education Luc Ferry visited the charred remnants of the building on Saturday. They were met by the head of the local Jewish community and by CRIF's (the umbrella body representing French Jewry) Director-general Haim Musicant.
"The criminal origin of the blaze is more than strongly suspected which gives, for this Jewish school, an anti-Semitic and obviously racist connotation," said Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
"This shows that there is still lots of work to do to fight against all forms of anti-Semitism," the minister added.
He vowed that those who set the fire would be caught and punished "with the greatest severity."
Musicant said he was worried by this aggression against a Jewish school. "In the homeland of human rights, attacks against children and schools are absolutely intolerable," he said.
"We know the French government's determination to fight anti-Semitism. We would like the arsonists to be arrested, tried and condemned in the hardest possible way to send a strong signal about France's commitment to fight anti-Semitism."
The Merkaz Hatorah school has some 160 junior high school students and 60 students in the high school.
With The Associated Press
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Yes, sir-ee bob! and you can bet the French authorities will go after these preps with a razor...an electric razor.
In a nutshell, IMHO, European dislike/hatred of the Jews goes way, way back to ancient Romen times. And you don't erase 2000+ years of this in only 50 or so years (1945 - present) Most don't really know why they hate the Jews - or Catholics, or capitalists, or FreeMasons, or Americans, etc. - they just do.
Jews are hated by Muslims, which France has imported by the millions these past few decades. This crime was most likely perpetrated by French Arab Muslims.
Unfortunately, we're on the same track to ruin as France, with George Bush continuing his predecessor's habit of importing about 100,000 fresh new legal-immigrant muslims per year.
As you can see, schools are mentioned in this latest "worldwide caution" public announcement. Unfortunately, not everyone pays attention, so let me print out the most current worldwide caution here.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
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This information is current as of today, Mon Nov 17 19:56:01 2003.
WORLDWIDE CAUTION
September 26, 2003
This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated September 10, 2003. It is being issued to remind U.S. citizens of the continuing threat that they may be a target of terrorist actions, even after the anniversary date of the September 11 attacks, and to add the potential for threats to maritime interests. This Worldwide Caution expires on February 25, 2004.
The U.S. Government remains deeply concerned about the security of U.S. citizens overseas. U.S. citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. We are seeing increasing indications that Al-Qaida is preparing to strike U.S. interests abroad. Looking at the last few months, Al-Qaida and its associated organizations have struck in the Middle East in Riyadh, in North Africa in Casablanca, and in East Asia in Indonesia. We therefore assess that other geographic locations could be venues for the next round of attacks. We expect Al-Qaida will strive for new attacks that will be more devastating than the September 11 attack, possibly involving nonconventional weapons such as chemical or biological agents. We also cannot rule out the potential for Al-Qaida to attempt a second catastrophic attack within the U.S.
Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may also involve commercial aircraft and maritime interests, and threats to include conventional weapons, such as explosive devices. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where American citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events or resorts and beaches. U.S. citizens should remain in a heightened state of personal security awareness when attendance at such locations is unavoidable.
U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or suspend public services from time to time to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest American embassy or consulate.
As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its consular information program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, U.S. travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2328.
Return to Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings Page
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