Approximately two hundred Arabs from the suburbs of Paris
attacked Jews on Sunday (14 Elul) on the Champs Elysees in
Paris. Witnesses said that a mob of Arabs marched along the
avenue shouting "Death to the Jews" and "Destroy Israel." A
Jew who passed by in a car said that the rioters looked like
"death squads" of antisemitic organizations, and shouted the
very same slogans which were heard on Champs Elysees prior to
the Second World War at the height of Nazi hysteria.
The Arabs chased and hit scores of young Jews and tourists who
tried to escape. It took an hour for riot police to arrive on
the scene and to disperse the Arabs with tear gas and clubs.
The newspapers, as is common in such incidents, did not report
the antisemitic attacks, except for La Parisienne which
spoke only about fights among youths on Champs Elysees without
any details of the true nature of the disturbance.
Frightened parents called the Jewish radio stations on Monday
to report the antisemitic attack. Jews said that they don't
feel safe in France any more, and complained that the
authorities are burying their heads in the sand and displaying
indifference to Arab antisemitism due to their fear of the
Arabs. One Jewish woman said that she feels that Jews should
leave France and that many are thinking of moving to Israel or
to Canada.
According to a number of reports, Jews in various vacation
spas in south France suffered from violence and attacks of the
Arabs. Jewish organizations also are keeping mum on the issue,
and are cautious not to blame the Arabs for the attacks.
Instead they speak about the "youth from the suburbs."
The Jews fear that as the presidential elections approach the
situation will grow worse, because the politicians, especially
from the Left, will inundate young Arabs with French
citizenship who eligible to vote, with anti-Israeli propaganda
in order to gain their votes. At the time the of the attack on
Champs Elysees, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said: "We
can't sit by idly as the Palestinians and the Israelis behave
rashly, dragging the entire region into the abyss. The
international community must act sternly in order prevent
disaster, and must return to the principle of land for
peace."
In the meantime, he is sitting by idly in the face of the
antisemitic attacks in France.
Pascal Boniface, the head of the Institute for Foreign Affairs
of the pro-Arab lobby, has already warned the French Jews, in
articles in La Monde, to maintain a low profile and not
to support Israel unless they want to incite violence against
themselves. The Arabs in France also received support for
their antisemitic attacks at the United Nations convention in
Durban and the antisemitic decisions against Israel there.
The same atmosphere of beatings, riots and threats against the
Jews which prevailed at the convention in South Africa
prevails in the suburbs where Arabs and Jews live, as well as
in the Metro and on the busses.
The media condemn Israel constantly. A Jewish traveler found a
swastika stamped on his passport after he handed it in to
customs to release his goods from customs. We wonder whether
the customs authority saved this seal since the Nazi era.
Israel's ambassador to France, Eli Barney complained about the
ugly mood in France.
