We have documented many times the role in the spread of anti-Semitic violence in Europe played by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The gross demonization and dehumanization of Israeli Jews by BDS contributes both directly and indirectly to acts of anti-Semitism. We have seen it on the streets of Copenhagen, Malmo, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, The Hague, London and elsewhere.
It’s why Walking While Jewish is dangerous in many cities in Europe. In Paris, Reporting While Jewish is risky as well.
While in theory anti-Zionism can be distinct from anti-Semitism, in reality on the streets of Europe they have merged.
Now there is yet another example, via Algemeiner, 40 Person Mob Assaults 2 Jews on Paris’ Boulevard Voltaire:
Two Jewish residents of Paris were assaulted on the street by a gang of about 40 people on Friday, Israeli French JSS News reported, citing antisemitism watchdog the Bureau National de Vigilance Contre l’Antisemitisme (BNVCA).The attack against the two Jewish victims, both in their 20s, occurred at about 2:30 p.m. on Boulevard Voltaire in Paris’ 11 arrondissement, according to the report.The gang of attackers was associated with the anti-Israel groups Gaza Firm and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, according to security personnel responsible for protecting the Jewish community.Police launched an investigation into the incident and warned local Jewish business owners to be extra vigilant, JSS News said.
The original French JSS News story states (via Google Translate):
According to an attached security service to the Jewish community, the wildlings are linked to anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist organizations “Gaza Firm” and “BDS. “For now, the police opened an investigation and it was impossible to know the two victims of health.A source JSSNews within the police confirmed the event and said he had asked the Jewish shopkeepers to pay particular attention to the closing of shops.In the summer of 2014, it was already the young “pro-Palestinian” Gaza Firm attacking synagogues in Paris (Rue de la Roquette in particular).
In a sick and possibly related event, the Memorial to slain French Jew Halimi was vandalized:
French authorities said vandals damaged a memorial plaque honoring a young French Jewish man tortured and killed in 2006….Halimi’s death stunned many in France, especially in the Jewish community, Europe’s largest. Driven in part by anti-Semitism, a gang held him captive for weeks and tortured him, then left him naked and handcuffed near railroad tracks. The 23-year-old Halimi died en route to the hospital….The attack [on the two Jewish men] took place on Boulevard Voltaire in Paris’ 11 arrondissement, or district, the same location in which Halimi’s 2006 kidnapping took place, home to many Jewish-owned businesses.
Gaza Firm participated in the Paris riots in Summer 2014, as reported in Metro News Paris (via Google Translate):
Among the many pro-Palestinian demonstrations that took place in Paris in recent weeks, three of them ( two of which had been banned ) violently skidded. A Bastille on July 13 , July 19 at Barbès and Saturday last place the Republic . Each time the same group present on site, calling itself “Gaza Firm”, was suspected of having organized overflows.Birth on the Internet on July 19Last Saturday, Republic Square, MetroNews was able to observe the presence of this group of young people, among others, at the rally “for peace in Gaza.” Organized and equipped (some were masked and gloved), they quickly climbed the central statue to be a banner taped to his name: “Gaza Firm”. A few minutes later, a sudden stampede has tilted this peace rally in genuine urban guerrillas. This same group then found in the front line facing the CRS. Who are these young people who, this afternoon, clashed with police for more than three hours?
The Paris riots last summer that resulted in an attack on a Synagogue full of worshippers started as a Boycott march and BDS shirts were worn in the crowd approaching the synagogue:
At “Gaza Firm” protests in Summer 2014, “Boycott Israel” posters were everywhere:
The most recent attack comes less than a week after another attack on a French Jew:
French authorities are investigating the complaint of a Jewish man who reported that three young men viciously beat him on Saturday as he left a synagogue in Paris.According to a report in French daily newspaper Le Parisien, the attack took place in the Saint-Ouen commune in the northern suburbs of Paris. The victim, identified only as Solomon, is 53, owns a grocery store, and has lived in the French capital for 15 years.The police complaint describes how a young man of about 25 followed Solomon after he left synagogue on Shabbat, calling him a “dirty Jew.” The assailant began to kick the victim, before spitting on him and threatening him with a knife.At first, Solomon says, he tried to defend himself, but then two other men joined the attacker and began kicking him in the back and the legs. The three withdrew only after a physical struggle.”I hear them say: ‘Go ahead and stab him, the Jew,'” Solomon told Le Parisien. “I was sure they would kill me. I was bleeding all over. I’m confused, anxious and afraid to leave the house now. I am in absolute trauma.”Police are searching for the three assailants.
The violence takes place amidst frequent threatening protests against Israel, such as this recent protest against “Zionists”:
May 1st 2015 – A video taken by The World Zionist Organization’s Paris activist of the Center for Countering Antisemitism Lurent K (full name is saved in our system) shows yet another Antisemitic rally calling for the destruction of the Jewish State.Pro-Palestinian and pro-communist extreme leftist protesters decided to march into the heart of the Jewish quarter in Paris shouting, “Intifada”, “Zionist Fascists” and “Terrorists” at a group of Jews who were protesting on the side of the street.
The link between BDS rhetoric and actions and the rise of anti-Semitism no longer can be denied.
[Featured Image: Video – Gaza Firm protest Paris July 16, 2014]
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