At 7 am this morning, an Iranian screaming "Allahu Akbar" attacked a Rabbi and his son with a cutter outside his synagogue in the 9th district of Paris.

Paris, 23 April 2013

After a chase into the synagogue and then back into the street, the assailant was reportedly apprehended by passersby and the police. The Rabbi suffered cuts to his throat, his son was stabbed in the back. They were immediately hospitalised and are now out of danger. 

Together with it’s French associate, the Bureau National pour la Vigilance Contre L’Antisemitisme (BNVCA – The National Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism), the Simon Wiesenthal Centre has commended those members of the public who came to the victims help and the swift action by the police.  Nevertheless, the Centre has urged the judicial authorities to see the attack for what it is: a pre-determined antisemitic hate-crime. 

In view of the gathering of Palestinian terrorists, last week hosted and feted by the nearby Paris region municipality of St. Denis, Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Centre’s Director for International Relations, called for an investigation into possible Jihadi links and internet usage of the aggressor.  He further appealed for a governmental commitment to prevent the continued entry of Palestinian terrorists into France.