A Jewish
man reportedly was stabbed in front of a kosher
restaurant in an eastern French city. Sammy Ghozlan, president of France’s Bureau of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, said the attack likely was motivated by anti-Semitism.
Relatives
of the 45-year-old victim told police that the family drove to the restaurant in Villeurbanne for lunch. Family members went inside while the father looked for a parking spot. A few minutes later the
father entered the restaurant covered with blood, saying he had been stabbed by a young man on a bicycle. He was rushed to the
nearest hospital in Lyon. Relatives emphasized that the man
was wearing a kippah.
The vigilance
bureau alerted the office of the interior minister and demanded that
authorities act rapidly to find the attacker.
“We
would like to draw your attention to the fact that several anti-Jewish
aggressions took place almost consecutively over the last few weeks, Ghozlan wrote to the authorities. “All these acts have stirred up
strong emotional reactions in the Jewish community, who seem to have become a
favorite target for such acts, especially during this electoral period.”
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