Anti-Semitic attacks in France on rise

THE number of anti-Semitic attacks in France increased by 58% in 2012, according to figures from the Service de Protection de la Communauté Juive (SPCJ).

The association recorded 614 anti-Semitic acts last year, with the number of physical attacks almost doubling when compared to 2011.

Physical and verbal attacks increased by 82% compared to 2011 (315 in 2012 in comparison to 171 in 2011), with a quarter of physical attacks being carried out with a weapon.

Worryingly, the SPCJ found that after high profile attacks such as those committed by gunman Mohamed Merah in March 2012 when he shot dead three children and a rabbi at their school in Toulouse, there was an increase in anti-Semitic attacks.

The SPCJ also looked at those who carried out the attacks and found that most often violent acts were carried out by groups and perpetrated by people aged 15 to 25.

In 75% of the cases, the attacker(s) is/were described by the victim as someone of
North African background.

And when analysing what the attackers said, it appears that the most frequent references
relate to the desire to kill Jews, Palestine, Hitler and the Holocaust.

Comments

[beejay]

Perhaps a drop in tourist dollars may spur the French government into actually doing something about this problem instead of just ignoring it.

[C. Medeot]

Anti-Semitic - does this apply to both Jews & Muslims ?
The Semitic spoken language covers a very broad group of people.
To exclude any Semitic group in using such terminology would be wrong - unless its a deliberate form of 'elitism' which should then be clarified as such.