(JTA) — A Jewish 13-year-old boy in Paris was attacked while walking to synagogue and called a “dirty Jew,” according to a Jewish hate crimes monitor.
Three youths described as “of African origin” attacked the kippah-wearing teen in the city’s 12th district on Saturday afternoon, the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, or BNVCA, said in a report issued Monday.
The assailants called the teen a “dirty Jew” and punched him. The teen also reported that one of the attackers took off his kippah while a second grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against a pole.
The attackers fled when other people appeared on the street, according to BNVCA. The boy made it to the synagogue and later reported the attack to police.
“Those who wish to observe this religious requirement (of wearing a kippah) should not give in to intimidation or threats and should be able to keep their head covered freely,” BNVCA said in its statement. “On the contrary, it is those who spread anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination who should be disturbed, condemned and neutralized.”
BNVCA called on police to “make every effort to identify and question” the attackers.
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