With cries of “Death to the Jews,” a hundred anti-Israeli youths attacked the Synagogue de la Roquette, in Paris on Sunday. French news magazineLe Monde says preliminary reports are that four Jewish people were injured, one seriously.
French news service AFP reported the Muslim rioters surrounded the Synagogue and threw rocks into the house of worship. Large scale police forces were called to extricate the Jews.
Jewish news website JTA spoke to an eyewitness, Alain Azria, a French Jewish journalist, who reported, “The attackers splintered off an anti-Israel demonstration and advanced toward the synagogue when it was full.”
Azria reported that only five police officers were guarding the synagogue when the attackers arrived. The Jerusalem Post reports:
The police blocked the entrance to the synagogue while close to 200 congregants were inside. Meanwhile, the protesters chanted anti-Semitic slogans and hurled objects at the synagogue and its guards, Azria said.
“They were determined to enter and the police did not have enough forces,” he said.
According to Azria, the mob was kept away by men from the SPCJ Jewish security unit, the Jewish Defense League and Beitar, who engaged the attackers in what turned into a street brawl.
“Thank God they were there because the protesters had murder on their minds and it took a while before police reinforcements arrived,” Azria added.
A short video of the incident (embedded above) was posted on the Instagram account of Jean-Baptiste Soufron, who said, “Synagogue besieged in Paris and CRS overwhelmed and clueless.” [CRS is the French national police force].
On Friday evening, the synagogue of Aulnay-sous-Bois in the suburbs of Paris was the target of a Molotov cocktail which damaged the front door; thankfully, no one was hurt.
This weekend’s synagogue attacks are the latest examples of the growing anti-Semitism in France.
This is a copy of the full article provided by the Conservatives at Truth Revolt