Violent acts or threats against French Jews in the first half of this year outnumbered all similar incidents in 2008, a Jewish community group said Saturday, pointing to a wave of antisemitism following Israel’s attack on Gaza.
In the period from January to June 2009, 631 antisemitic incidents were recorded, the Paris-based Protection Service for the Jewish Community (SPCJ) said, compared to 474 for the whole of 2008.
Some 360 of those took place in January — the month when Israel launched its military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
From this year’s numbers, 113 were violent attacks and 518 were threats of violence.
The data was based on records from the French interior ministry and the SPCJ’s own figures.
The SPCJ said anger over Israel’s offensive on Gaza was one of the main reasons for the rise in attacks on or threats of violence against Jews.
“The pro-Palestinian movement of January 2009 paved the way for numerous antisemitic attacks,” the group said in a statement.
“This trend continued over the following months,” the SPCJ said.
