Posted on 05/01/2004 10:19:54 AM PDT by MegaSilver
PARIS – The number of anti-Semitic attacks committed in France rose in the first three months of this year, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday, a day after 127 graves were found desecrated in a Jewish cemetery.
The ministry said it recorded 67 acts of violence against Jewish people or property in the first quarter of 2004, up from 42 in the final three months of last year.
The news added to the debate over anti-Semitism in France as the desecration of the Jewish cemetery close to the border with Germany continued to make headline news. Foreign Minister Michel Barnier echoed other ministers in condemning the attack.
"For Jewish cemeteries to be desecrated is appalling," he said on RFI radio. "There can be no mercy for this kind of act."
Swastikas, the name of Adolf Hitler and the SS initials of his ruthless guard were etched or painted on to tombstones in the Herrlisheim cemetery near the town of Colmar, some 20 km (12 miles) from the German border.
The incident, for which police did not name suspects, came amid a political row between the French left and right over their records in combating anti-Semitism.
France's Jewish community of around half a million is the largest in Europe. Police have boosted vigilance on anti-Semitic attacks after the firebombing of a Jewish school near Paris and an attack on a Jewish cemetery in Marseille last November.
The rise in the number of recorded anti-Semitic acts could be put down to increased police vigilance and campaigns by the Jewish community to encourage victims to report attacks, the Interior Ministry said.
The dhimmis really will say anything to try to avoid the unpleasant fact that they have a large and rapidly growing problem on their hands.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.