France’s interior minister vowed to make the fight against anti-Semitism a “national cause” during a rally near Paris protesting the brutal attack of a Jewish couple.
Hundreds of Jews gathered on Dec. 7 in Creteil, the site of the Dec. 1 break-in at the couple’s apartment. A 19-year-old woman was raped while another suspect guarded her 21-year-old boyfriend and a third withdrew money from a cash machine.
The assailants told the male victim that they targeted the Jewish couple living there because they believed that Jews always have some money.
“We need to make the fight against racism and anti-Semitism a national cause by getting all bodies concerned involved,” Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said at the rally.
Cazeneuve confirmed the “anti-Semitic nature” of the attack.
Roger Cukierman, the president of France’s umbrella group for Jewish organizations, CRIF, told the crowd that Jews in France feel endangered.
“Some are already leaving France,” he said. “We feel that something has changed. It’s no longer just graffiti or minor incidents; these are death threats. It cannot go on like this.” — jta