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By Andrew Diamond PARIS, Jan. 21 (JTA) -- Jews in the Paris region have stepped up their drive against a wave of anti-Semitic aggression that many feel has reached epidemic proportions. On Sunday in the Paris suburb of Sarcelles, more than 600 people attended a rally against anti-Semitic violence. Among them were representatives of Christian and Muslim communal organizations and high-ranking officials from all the major political parties in France. It was the third such demonstration in the Paris suburbs in the last three weeks. In staging these demonstrations, French Jewish organizations have adopted a more assertive approach as they ...

A previously unknown Islamic militant group, Jamaat Ansar Al-Jihad al-Islamiya, said yesterday it set fire to a Paris-based Jewish-run soup kitchen. Sunday's arson attack, in which nobody was killed or injured, was condemned by French President Jacques Chirac amid fears of a new wave of anti Semitic violence in France. "A group of young mujahedeen (fighters) ... have torched the Jewish temple in Paris at 04:00 Paris time," said Jamaat Ansar Al-Jihad al-Islamiya, whose claim could not be independently verified. The group said the attack was "in response to racist acts by Jews in France against Islam and the Muslims...

The Jewish community's official representation in France warned today of a "new Kristallnacht" after a series of attacks on Jewish targets over the weekend. The Central Consistory in Paris said it was "profoundly worried by the repeated attacks on French synagogues," and called on the government immediately to step up protection of Jewish buildings and institutions. "Without this, we would have no choice but to consider the Jewish community as living through the beginnings of a new Kristallnacht, with the government totally passive," the Consistory said in a statement. Kristallnacht is the name given to the night of November 9,...

Arsonists raze Jewish school Amelia Gentleman in Paris Monday November 17, 2003 The Guardian An emergency meeting of the French cabinet will be held today after a devastating arson attack on a Jewish school in Paris at the weekend. President Jacques Chirac and the prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, will meet leaders of the Jewish community to discuss a joint strategy of response. About 100 firefighters tackled the blaze at the Merkaz Hatorah private school, in the Saint-Denis suburb to the north of the capital, on Saturday. No one was injured, but 3,000 sq metres of the school were destroyed. At...

French 'Peace' Activists Attack Jews, Salute bin Laden Eva Cahen, CNSNews.com Thursday, March 27, 2003 PARIS – Daily anti-war demonstrations by high school and college students in France have brought about increased tensions between the country's estimated 5 million Muslims and French Jews. A small group of Jewish students taking part in a peace demonstration Saturday in Paris were attacked and beaten by young Muslims also marching against U.S. intervention in Iraq. The assault was videotaped by Digipresse, a small French news agency, but France's two state television stations, France 2 and France 3, refused to broadcast it on their...

According to the Jewish Agency, Anti-American demonstrators attacked and wounded two young boys Saturday. The boys were participating in an educational activity of the Hashomer Hatsa'ir youth movement, taking place nearby. The Jewish Agency called on the French government "to assume its responsibility for the security of its Jewish citizens, and to prevent violence against Jews or anti-Semitic acts under the guise of pacifist protest".

Street protests against American and British military action in Iraq have escalated into attacks by Muslim youths on Jewish demonstrators, sparking fears of a new wave of anti-Semitism across France. The French government was forced to appeal for calm after protesters, some of them carrying pictures of Saddam Hussein, burnt the Israeli flag and turned on Jewish students, attacking one of them with an iron bar, during a series of anti-war rallies. Officials fear that anti-war sentiment, supported by President Jacques Chirac, may be running out of control and could ignite widespread violence. Banners at recent demonstrations have shown the...

Harry and Murielle Ouaknine are successful professionals in France, but they’re thinking of giving up their life here to move to Israel. “We always thought about moving to Israel, but the environment in France now has pushed us to find the courage to do it,” Ouaknine said last month at a fair here, held to encourage immigration to Israel. Ouaknine, a shipping broker and the father of two children, was gathering information about high schools in Tel Aviv. He wasn’t alone. An increasing number of Jews in France are contemplating a move to Israel. Nearly 4,500 people showed up at...

Israeli media slams as ''Anti-Semitic'' Chirac refusal to join EU condemnation of Malaysian PM speech on Jews Israeli commentators have firmly blasted French President Jacques Chirac's refusal to sign the condemnation proposal drafted by the European Union in Brussels, which brought about the cancellation of the draft proposal. This came after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's call last week for Islamic nations to unite against "a few million Jews," who control the world. Chirac, backed by Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, stopped the European Union from ending a summit on Friday with a harshly worded statement deploring Mahathir's speech. A...

Some of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's advisers and Israeli diplomats in Paris were at pains yesterday to try and temper Sharon's call on French Jews to come to Israel. They explained that it was only part of Sharon's regular call to the Jews of the Diaspora to make aliya and emphasized that he had praised the French governments' efforts in battling anti-Semitism. They should have saved their breath. Sharon was unequivocal. After being asked a question about attacks on French Jews at a meeting with the leadership of the United Jewish Communities, the prime minister said, "If I have to...

France Says It Must Not Be Arab-Jewish Battleground Last Updated: April 02, 2002 12:10 PM ET By Rebecca Harrison PARIS (Reuters) - France must not become a battleground where Jews and Muslims re-enact the bloody Middle East violence, national leaders said Tuesday after a series of attacks on Jewish targets in the country. Unknown arsonists tried to burn down a building at a Jewish cemetery in Strasbourg Monday night, following attacks on synagogues and a Jewish butcher's shop over Easter weekend. Right-wing pro-Israeli activists clashed Tuesday with Palestinian supporters waiting at a Paris airport for militant French farmer Jose...

French envoy to UK: Israel ("that shitty little country" ) threatens world peace By Douglas Davis The Jerusalem Post 20 December LONDON (December 20) - The diplomatic career of French Ambassador to Britain Daniel Bernard was said to be in jeopardy yesterday, after he was quoted as having referred to Israel as "that shitty little country" which threatens world peace. The undiplomatic remarks were made at a private gathering at the London home of Lord Black of Crossharbour, chairman of The Jerusalem Post's parent company Hollinger Inc. They were referred to - anonymously - in a column published in the ...

When a wave of rioting erupted across France last fall, a Jewish youth group swung into action to guard synagogues and community centers from possible anti-Semitic spillover violence. Many Jews feel that such a reflex is needed these days in France, home to the largest population of both Jews and Muslims in western Europe and sporadically simmering with tensions. As Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was greeted with a red-carpet welcome in Paris on Wednesday, he faced a France where anti-Semitic attacks have tumbled from a high in 2004, despite several dramatic incidents. Olmert called President Jacques Chirac "one of...

<p>Facing international condemnation, a senior Malaysian official Friday defended Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's assertion at an Islamic summit that Jews rule the world, but apologized for any misunderstandings or offense.</p> <p>At their own summit in Brussels, Belgium, European Union leaders had drafted a harshly worded statement condemning Mahathir's remarks, but French President Jacques Chirac blocked the wording from becoming a part of a final declaration.</p>

PARIS – A Jewish teenager was stabbed in the chest by a man crying "God is great" in Arabic, officials said. The 17-year-old victim, who was not identified, was attacked Friday afternoon as he left a Jewish school in Epinay-sur-Seine, north of Paris in the rough Seine-Saint-Denis district, said local officials on condition of anonymity. The victim was taken to a hospital in serious condition, and the attacker fled. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin visited the site where the attack occurred. Witnesses said a man shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) then plunged a knife into the young man before...

A man crying "God is great" stabbed a Jewish teenager in the chest on Friday, seriously injuring the victim, officials said. It was the second violent attack in a week on a young Jewish man. The 17-year-old victim, who was not identified by name, was attacked about 4 p.m. as he left a Yeshiva in Epinay-sur-Seine, north of Paris in the rough Seine-Saint-Denis district, officials of the local prefecture said. The victim was transferred to a hospital, and the attacker fled the scene. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin visited the site where the attack occurred. Witnesses said a man shouted...

PARIS - Around 10,000 French Jews expressed their support for the Israeli government on Sunday in Paris during a rally attended by two senior Israeli ministers and several French politicians. The goal of the rally was to show French Jewish support for the “courageous, brave and determined step” of the Israeli government toward peace, namely the disengagement plan. French politicians from both sides of the political spectrum took part in the event. Francois Holland, head of the French socialist party, said he came to support the Israeli government, and especially Shimon Peres, chairman of Israel’s Labor party and deputy prime...

Last Update: 13/12/2004 21:18 France bans Hezbollah satellite TV as anti-Jewish By Reuters PARIS - A French court ordered a prompt end to satellite television broadcasts to Europe by Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group on Monday on grounds they were clearly anti-Semitic and a potential threat to public order. The Council of State, France's highest administrative court, gave the French-based company Eutelsat 48 hours to end the broadcasts beamed from its satellites after finding them in violation of a French legal ban on hate speech. The court said Al-Manar could return to the airwaves if it modified its programs to satisfy...

Will France Clean Up Anti-Semitism? Posted Aug. 5, 2002 By Kenneth R. Timmerman In a moving speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the infamous roundup of French Jews in 1942, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin spoke hard truths to his fellow countrymen. For two generations, the French have cloaked themselves in the memory of a resistance movement against the Nazi occupation that was neither widespread nor terribly glorious. Now, said Raffarin, it was time for the French to own up to the truth and make amends. "The French state, in organizing these systematic roundups, plunged into collaboration and betrayed the...

(IsraelNN.com) Vandals struck again at the Jewish cemetery in Marseilles, France today. The Marseilles police department reported that several gravestones were spray-painted with slogans such as “White Power” and the name of a neo-fascist organization called “New Order”, as well as Nazi swastikas. The city’s mayor condemned the anti-Semitic vandalism and called for capturing, trying and stiffly punishing those responsible. Synagogues, Jewish schools and the Jewish cemetery in Marseilles have been targeted repeatedly over recent years by anti-Semitic vandals and arsonists.