World
Jewish woman stabbed and swastika carved on her door
The attack in Lyon comes amid a backdrop of rising antisemitism in France
November 5, 2023 09:28
The attack in Lyon comes amid a backdrop of rising antisemitism in France
November 5, 2023 09:28(JNS) A 30-year-old Jewish woman was stabbed twice in her home in Lyon, France on Saturday, and police found a swastika drawn on her door.
The woman’s condition is “very serious but not life-threatening,” the Daily Mail reported, citing French media. The suspect was still at large.
“A Jewish woman was stabbed this Saturday. An antisemitic inscription was found on the door of her home,” Grégory Doucet, the mayor of Lyon, wrote on social media, in French. “Such a surge of violence is unspeakable. All my support to the victim, to her loved ones.”
The male attacker was masked and clad in black, according to the victim’s statement, and police are reviewing surveillance footage, Le Figaro reported.
“Her home was identified as a Jewish household because there was a mezuzah—a piece of parchment containing Jewish scripture—on the doorframe,” the Daily Mail reported, citing an “investigating source.”
“Early inquiries suggest an antisemitic murder attempt, especially since a Nazi swastika was spray-painted by the attacker on the front door before he left,” the source added.
“Initial findings have led the Lyon public prosecutor’s office to open an investigation into the attempted murder charge, aggravated by the fact that the act could have been motivated by an antisemitic motive,” the public prosecutor’s office stated on Saturday evening, the European Jewish Press reported.
There have been 857 antisemitic incidents in France since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, said last week.
Earlier this month, Darmanin told French Jews not to be afraid, saying: “If anyone touched a hair of a Jewish person, the state will act in the strongest manner,” he said. “You pray for France’s security on every Saturday. It’s only natural that the state protects you in turn.”
The European Jewish Congress, said the attack was “Deeply disturbing,” adding: "Jews have the right to exist without being attacked. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope the police can bring this cowardly individual to justice.”
“French authorities must do everything in their power to protect their Jewish community,” wrote the Anti-Defamation League.