Photo Credit: Google map
Vandalized synagogue in Bonneuil-sur-Marne, southeastern Paris.

A 13-year-old Jewish boy wearing a kippah was ambushed and beaten up last Friday night by a gang of three teens in the 12th district of Paris.

The French Bureau National de Vigilance Contre l”Antisemitisme (BNVCA) condemned the attack on Monday, urging police to “make every effort” to identify and capture the perpetrators of “this new anti-Jewish aggression.”

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The boy said he was returning to a synagogue on Rue Voynet de Paris to meet his father at around 6 pm when he was attacked.

He described the gang as three teens “of African origin.” He said they called him a “dirty Jew” and then punched him in the side. One grabbed his kippah while another yanked him by the hair and slammed his head against a nearby pole.

The attackers fled when other pedestrians arrived on the scene, including one who called out – in vain – for help.

The boy proceeded to join his father at synagogue, with a badly bruised face and suffering from shock. He reported the attack to police and provided them with a description of his attackers.

“Those who wish to observe this religious requirement should not give in to intimidation or threats and should be able to keep their head covered freely,” the 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,” the group said, urging Jews “not to give in to intimidation or threat…

“It is the camp of anti-Jewish hatred and discrimination which must be worried, condemned and neutralized,” said the BNVCA.

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Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.