A string of violent anti-Semitic attacks in France has prompted Jews to call on government authorities to tackle what they say is an epidemic of “societal anti-Semitism.”
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) made the call days after an attack on a French Jewish leader and his family in their home outside Paris. As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, France’s Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said “the motivation for this cowardly act appears to be directly linked to their religion.”
That assault followed reports that a former principal at a preparatory school for teenagers in Marseille said Jews were told not to attend his institution for fear of harassment by other students.
“Unfortunately, we see these two incidents, and many others, as intertwined, where parts of French society are becoming increasingly anti-Semitic on the one hand, and this hate towards Jews is being accepted and tolerated by other parts,” Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the EJC, said. “We call on French authorities to firmly root out societal Antisemitism and its passive acceptance.”
Since the Hypercacher grocery store attack in January 2015 which left four dead, many French Jews have felt increasingly insecure and thousands have emigrated to Israel seeking safety. Those that have remained are now looking to the French Government to do more than talk about making their lives safer.
“We appreciated the important words of the French Government in trying to make Jews feel safe in their country,” Kantor continued. “However, it doesn’t appear that much has changed on the ground for French Jews who are still regularly attacked.”
“If in a society where free education as a basic right for all citizens is being denied some Jews because of safety matters it is clear that the central principals of the Republic is failing them.”
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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