Hundreds Gather in Paris to Protest 'Gang Rape' of Jewish Girl

Hundreds of people in Paris protested against the gang rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl by three teenagers in France, labeling the incident as 'anti-Semitic.' According to the French President, 'the scourge of anti-Semitism' has taken hold of the country. According to reports from Agence France-Presse and Le Monde, the public expressed outrage over the assault on the Jewish girl during their gathering in Paris on Thursday, June 21, protesting against anti-Semitism and a 'culture of rape.' The assault by three 13-year-old boys occurred on Saturday, June 17, 'because of her being Jewish.' The girl told police that the three boys, aged 12 and 13, dragged her into a shack in a park near her home in northwest Paris, beat her, and assaulted her while 'threatening to kill' her and making 'anti-Semitic' remarks. Israeli media reported that the assailants asked the girl whether she supported the war in Israel against Gaza. A French police source stated that one of the boys filmed the assault, while another threatened the girl that she would be killed if she revealed the incident. The police have arrested the three teenagers; two have been charged with sexual assault, insults, anti-Semitic violence, and death threats and are being held in custody, while the third boy was not charged with assault and was allowed to return home after questioning. Concerns have been raised about the sharp increase in a 'hostile atmosphere' against Jews in France and Belgium. According to the Kan Israel network, one of the boys claimed he had previously known the girl but was angry that he did not know she was 'Jewish' beforehand. Following requests from various anti-racism groups, a protest was also held in Lyon on Wednesday against the assault and the rise of anti-Semitism in France. Dominique Sopo, head of an anti-racist group in France, called the assault a 'crime against Jews.' Cecile Meilfert, head of a women's foundation in France, stated that anti-Semitism has increased recently in the country and that this assault reflects the spread of a 'culture of gang rape' among youth who watch adult sex films. Rabbi Chaim Korsia, the senior spiritual leader of Jews in France and a leader of the European Jewish Spiritual Council, said that this incident, solely because the girl was born to Jewish parents, 'reminds us of one of the darkest periods in history when Jews were persecuted.' France, with about 440,000 Jews, has the third-largest Jewish community after Israel and the United States, but this number constitutes less than one percent of France's population. Yonatan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, stated on Thursday that the situation for Jews in the country has become 'very difficult,' and Jews are 'very worried about their future,' seeing their 'future in France' as shrouded in uncertainty. A report from CRIF, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, indicated that in 2023, there were 1,676 anti-Semitic incidents, nearly four times that of the previous year. Since the attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israeli territory, which led to the Israeli army's war in Gaza and has continued into the first six months of 2024, anti-Jewish actions in France have been on the rise. Last month, a man armed with a knife and iron bar set fire to a Jewish synagogue in Rouen, France, and died himself. According to The Guardian, the assault by the teenage boys on a girl because of her Jewish identity has shaken France. Various political factions condemned the incident ahead of parliamentary elections. Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Rally party, who has tried to distance herself from her father's anti-Semitic rhetoric, accused the left in France this week of playing a role in stigmatizing Jews. Yonatan Arfi told The Guardian that the rise of both the far-right and far-left blocs in France is very concerning for Jews, and if some Jews believe that the far-right is a response to the far-left, the far-right itself is anti-Semitic, which is a real threat. Meir Habib, a Jewish representative in the French parliament, told Israel Hayom that France must 'wake up before it is too late.' Mr. Habib stated that the boys accused in the assault 'will not spend even one day in jail.'