The European Jewish Congress (EJC) has called for stronger measures to be taken by French authorities in the wake of a vicious attack on prominent 78-year-old French Sephardic Jewish community leader Roger Pinto and his family, assaulted in an anti-Semitic attack last week at home in the Paris suburb of Livry-Gargan.
The attack took place just days after a report that a former principal at a preparatory school for teenagers in Marseille said he regularly advises Jews 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,” EJC President, Dr. Moshe Kantor, noted.
“We call on French authorities to firmly root out societal anti-Semitism and its passive acceptance.”
Over the last couple of years, since the Hyper Cacher attack in January 2016 in which four people were murdered, many French Jews have felt increasingly insecure and thousands have emigrated.
“We appreciate 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 due to safety matters, it is clear that the central principles of the Republic is failing them.”
