French Officials Condemn Attacks on Jewish Communities

Both the President and Prime Minister of France have strongly condemned the latest in a string of arson attacks against Jewish sites in France. They believe that the escalating violence in the Middle East has stirred up local hostility toward the Jews, as reported by BBC News (UK).

The Prime Minister told RTL-Radio, "Even if we have the largest Jewish community, and one of the largest Arab-Muslim communities in Europe, we must not import this violence." Jewish leaders have blamed politicians' complacency for the attacks, because they failed to see the "rising tide of anti-Semitism."

According to BBC, a spokesman for the Union of Jewish Communities in France said that "without decisive action (to protect them), the Jews could feel as though they were living through signs of another Kristallnacht," speaking of a German mob who, in 1938, lashed out violently.

BBC